Scallops and strawberries. [Photo/China Daily]

For the scallop starter, I volunteered to make the couscous for a salad served on the side ("one part water to one part couscous－simple"), but the fun part of that scallop dish was making the mango chutney.

Zoller had two immense Australian mangoes on the counter for that, and I asked why he'd chosen those over the many other types now at the market. A certain flavor?

"They are big," he says simply. "The small ones are very good too, but we don't want to be here all day peeling little mangoes."

For me, chutney has always seemed a little mysterious, and wonderfully exotic. (I grew up in the US state of Texas, where chutney wasn't seen much.)

"Chutney is basically jam with vinegar," Zoller says as he dumps 200 grams of coarse dry sugar into a pot on high heat. "If the sugar isn't too fine, you don't even need to use oil for this step.

"Add the vinegar once the sugar is melted. Ideally, use a sweetish vinegar, like the Japanese kind," he adds.

The sugar, vinegar and diced mango need to simmer for 50 minutes, he notes. An important tip: Wait to add the spices－ground cardamom, grain mustard, ground cumin, cayenne pepper－until the chutney is almost finished, so they don't lose their punch. Then continued heating for 3 to 5 more minutes.

At almost every stage, Zoller makes a point of repeating his first piece of advice. "Keep the knife sharp," he says, "and that makes everything easy."