After having gained several years of baking experience in Kunming and having become familiar with local ingredients and spices, he developed a pretzel filled with dried radish and fermented bean curd, combining the crispness of pickled radish with the twisted bread. The creation has received praise from many customers. "I think mix between Western culture and Chinese local ingredients is the way to get more market share, get more business," he said,

　　Vincent Aguesse Photo: Courtesy of Vincent Aguesse

　　At the end of 2022, Aguesse received his Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of China, also fondly known as the Chinese "green card." He said excitedly that it allows him to make longer-term life plans and truly put down roots in China. Aguesse told the Global Times that he hopes to set up an apprenticeship school in Kunming to train bakers and for them to find jobs all over China.

　　"I really feel now part of the city, and well accepted among the Kunming people. So I have this sense of belonging here, which I think is very important for someone who migrates," Aguesse said.

　　From first arriving in Kunming to running his own café, Aguesse feels fortunate about his entrepreneurial journey in China. "We"ve been very lucky because the [Chinese] government has been quite helpful, especially promoting this Western food culture," Aguesse told the Global Times. "We attended all of these [promotional] events.".

　　"If I have any friends coming to China who wants to do business, I would tell them to come and just analyze by themselves. They don"t really need to listen to or read other foreign news. They can just come and enjoy their time for a few weeks with the free visa application, just to realize what China is and what China has become," Aguesse said.