Candice Chung on Chinese Parents Don’t Say I Love You
How do we express love when you come from a culture where saying ‘I love you’ isn't the norm?
Join food journalist and writer Candice Chung as she discusses her poignant memoir Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You, a bittersweet exploration of love, solitude, and the unspoken language of food.
What is the most unsayable thing you have ever wanted to say to your parents? For newly single food journalist Candice Chung, there's been one thing on her mind lately: 'If anything happens, I love you.' Simple. Reasonable. If only her estranged Cantonese parents weren't so allergic to the word 'love'. Still, she's determined to tackle what's left unsaid. A way to unscramble what her family has been trying to tell each other all along–not in Cantonese or English–but with food.
Through shared meals and culinary adventures, from steaming hotpots to pasta at uncomfortably romantic trattorias, Candice will reflect on migration, memory, and intimacy in her quest to rebuild closeness with her parents. Interviewed by award-winning journalist and author Chitra Ramaswamy, together they will discuss how food can fill the gaps where words fail.
For anyone who has ever found their loved ones' emotional worlds unreachable and sought to find connection, this is an evening not to be missed.

The ‘stream and book’ package includes a unique ticket for the stream, and a copy of Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You (RRP £16.99) deliverable to any UK or international address.
The event will initially be broadcast on 7 May at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].