中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

The reporter learned on February 26 that the 4th Fuzhou Fujian Cuisine Vocational Skills Competition, organized by the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions, will kick off in mid-to-late March. Registration for the competition is now open and will close on March 5.

Both individuals and teams can register

According to information, the competition will consist of three parts: a theoretical exam, a Fujian cuisine skills competition, and an award ceremony. The theoretical exam and skills competition will take place around March 20. The competition will focus on Chinese-style cooking, and will be conducted according to the National Vocational Skill Standards for senior technicians (Level 3).

This competition will give full play to the leading role of vocational skills competitions in evaluating, selecting, and motivating high-skilled talent. It aims to cultivate and select a group of exceptional professionals with advanced skills for the Fuzhou culinary industry. Both individuals and teams are welcome to register. Applicants must meet the requirements specified in the Technical Specifications for the Preparation of National Vocational Skills Standards (2023). For registration details, please contact Ms. Wang at 17060454595 or Ms. Cheng at 18950298907.

The competition will focus on evaluating skills in preparing “new Fujian cuisine”

“The Fujian Cuisine Vocational Skills Competition will focus on evaluating the participants’ skills in preparing ‘new Fujian cuisine,’” said Huang Lyubing, President of the Fuzhou Catering and Cuisine Industry Association. As the first Fujian cuisine chef skills competition held in Fuzhou after the introduction of the Three-Year Action Plan of Fujian Province for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of New Fujian Cuisine (2023-2025), this competition will focus on key tasks outlined in the Plan, such as “showcasing the new look of Fujian cuisine” and “cultivating new talent for Fujian cuisine.” It will assess chefs’ ability to innovate while preserving the traditional flavors and ingredients of Fujian cuisine, further promoting the development of new Fujian cuisine.

Compared to the older generation of chefs with a weaker cultural foundation, the younger generation in Fuzhou’s culinary workforce has shown a significant improvement in cultural literacy. Huang Lyubing said, the new generation of chefs, as the backbone of the industry, possesses strong learning abilities and a wide range of knowledge. This greatly contributes to the smooth development of Fujian cuisine, including its external exchange, dish innovation, and inheritance of culinary techniques.

In recent years, Fuzhou has been actively promoting the development of culinary talent to boost the Fujian cuisine brand. In addition to organizing the Fujian Cuisine Vocational Skills Competition every two years to discover emerging culinary talent, the city has launched the “Famous Chef Training Program.” This program brings together Fujian cuisine master chefs and key inheritors of Fujian cuisine projects to form a mentorship team, dedicated to nurturing and reserving talent. At the same time, Fuzhou is integrating resources to build a research and development platform for Fujian cuisine, focusing on the research, development and innovation of Fujian cuisine.

Previous competitions featured numerous highlights

In the Third Fujian Cuisine Vocational Skills Competition, over a hundred participants from the catering industry competed fiercely. After the theoretical exam and Fujian cuisine skills competition, 12 participants were awarded top honors. Among them, Li Mingyu, a chef from Fuzhou Hotel, won the first prize, while four others received second prizes and seven others earned third prizes.

At the final of the Third Fujian Cuisine Vocational Skills Competition, the organizers structured the competition into three rounds: a designated dish, a self-selected dish, and a self-created dish. In the first round, participants were asked to prepare the traditional Fujian dish “Fried Sea Bass in Sweet and Sour Sauce,” which emphasizes preserving traditional flavors and ingredients while testing the chef’s cutting skills, cooking techniques, and presentation. The second round required participants to use pork and apply Fujian-style cooking methods to transform this common ingredient into a dish with a distinctive flavor. In the third round, participants were allowed to select ingredients from a specified list and create a dish of their own design.

At the competition final, hundreds of exquisite dishes were displayed in the exhibition area, with more than ten senior culinary masters from Fuzhou’s catering industry present to comment and summarize the event. A variety of ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, colored rice, pastries, poultry, fish, and shrimp, were creatively combined by the participants, showcased through a variety of techniques such as carving, cutting, slicing, and arranging.

The “Fried Sea Bass in Sweet and Sour Sauce” round left a strong impression. Many participants opted to challenge the traditional “Single Chrysanthemum Blossom,” skillfully sculpting the sea bass into a large, intricate chrysanthemum-like shape, offering a visual and culinary feast. In the preparation process, they had to master how to handle the fish meat to create clustered petals and how to control the oil temperature to achieve a bright, glossy finish, all of which tested their culinary skills. “We saw many talented newcomers with strong innovation abilities, as well as seasoned veterans with excellent skills and solid fundamentals,” said a leader from the event organizers. (Fuzhou Evening News Reporter: Quan Yiyue)