Case Studies

These case studies show how we have helped some of our international corporate customers in a variety of ways with consultancy services, menu design, and staff training.

Kitchen appliance vendor's Asian expansion

An international kitchen appliance manufacturer wanted to broaden its products' appeal in Asia and strengthen its position in new markets, particularly China. To make the products more attractive to Asian consumers, Jodie co-wrote a new Asian recipe book together with the company's nutrition experts. She provided new recipes for this book and also updated older recipes or modified them to be more suitable for the broad Asian market.

In addition, the company consulted with Jodie extensively to mine her knowledge of Asian consumer habits and tastes; this information was used to guide company strategy and marketing. Comments from executives include: "Thank you for meeting with [the CFO] and I to discuss the project. It was very insightful and a great value in our effort to produce functional, high quality materials".

For example, Jodie was able to demonstrate how Chinese consumers could be quickly convinced of a kitchen appliance's unique advantages. She did this by designing a demonstration program in which the appliance was used to make popular local dishes far more rapidly and efficiently than by traditional methods.

Jodie continues to provide consultancy services for this company as it proceeds with its expansion in China and the rest of Asia. Comments from the company include: "We appreciate so much all of the very valuable work that you have done".

Restaurant chain's menu redesign

An expanding chain of contemporary Asian restaurants in the US needed to enhance its menu with new and exciting tastes from Asia. Jodie designed a short practical course to introduce company executives to a variety of interesting new flavors from Taiwan and China, including innovative dishes that had recently become popular locally.

Private school upgrades its Asian cuisine

A prestigious private boarding school in the US wanted to help its growing body of young Asian students feel more at home. With time short, the school turned to Jodie Tsao to help its experienced chef learn more about Chinese and Asian cuisine. The program she designed included an intensive hands-on teaching program in Taipei, together with restaurant and market visits.

"I am certain our chef benefited greatly from your knowledge and experience and we look forward to seeing the results in action at our school", the assistant headmaster commented.

To complement this practical course, Jodie helped the chef learn more about Asian culture so he would better understand when and how to serve Asian dishes. For example: showing how some dishes are linked to certain periods of the year or particular festivals. The result is an enhanced Asian menu that can alleviate the pangs of homesickness and keep students happy (and well fed) all year round, even if they are far from home.