Rob Cunningham tells about his journey from a small-town life to an illustrious career in a luxury hotel in the city.

After running some attention-getting restaurant kitchens in Asia for several years, only a thatch of graying hair betrays that Australian Rob Cunningham is now 44. At work in the open kitchen at Feast in Beijing's East Hotel, the executive chef moves like a spring, almost bouncing amid his kitchen crew as they primp picture-perfect plates of ox tongue. His tattooed forearms pump like engine pistons, whether he's talking about pureeing parsnips in Beijing or slaughtering a hog back on the family farm in Milawa, Victoria.

While he's clearly animated in the bright lights of a big-city kitchen, Cunningham says he's still a country boy at heart.