On the China Chef’s Festival, a series of special cuisines are served reflecting Yichang’s unique Xiajiang culture, Zhaojun culture, Bachu culture, the culture of the Three Kingdoms and so on. The cuisine, once integrated with the culture, surely brings different flavors to customers. (Photograph by journalist Huang Chunmei)

　　It was bleak day with the rain drizzling outside, however, all the cold and gloomy feeling were defeated by the passion of nearly 3,000 representatives of the national catering industry, who gathered in Yichang to celebrate the 28th China Chef’s Festival held from Oct. 18 to Oct. 21. During these days, nearly a thousand elites showed their talent, passed on traditional culture with dishes, and interpreted the “craftsman spirit” by their cooking.

　　This was “A bite of national event” with13 brilliant theme activities by which tens of thousands of Yichang residents enjoyed the exquisite skills of Chinese famous chefs and experienced colorful Chinese cuisine and the profound and endless charm of Chinese food culture.

　　“It was surprising. In previous festivals, there were only 1,000 participants regularly every year, however, this time the number reached to nearly 3,000, which fully demonstrated the charm of Yichang.” Jiang Junxian, president of China Cuisine Association, praised the China Chef’s Festival: “During the visit to Yichang, we not only felt the hospitality of the people of Yichang, but also experienced the characteristics and unique style of Yichang dishes.”

　　Jiang Junxian said that in the past, the China Chef’s Festival was held in the provincial capital. This was the first time for a prefecture-level city to be the host city. What deeply impressed him was that the Yichang Municipal Party Committee and Government attached great importance to this event by mobilizing all parties to meticulously organize, fully guarantee and actively participate, so that the event could be smoothly carried out and achieved a complete success.

　　Jiang Junxian was deeply impressed by the profound food culture and development atmosphere of Yichang during the China Chef’s Festival. “Yichang has great potential in the refinement of dishes, brand building, allusions of cooking cultural and historical inheritance.” He said: “In the future, the Chinese Cuisine Association will make every effort to help improve the standards of Yichang cuisine and gourmet. I believe that the title of ‘City of Chinese Delicacy’ in Yichang must be worthy of its name.”

　　Liu Fuqiang, deputy director of the Tianjin Commission of Commerce, took over the banner of the China Chef’s Festival from Jiang Junxian in the Three Gorges Project Interception Memorial Park at about 11:00 on Oct 21 from then on the spirit of exploring food innovative development was delivered.

　　Subsequently, Jiang Junxian announced the closing of 28th China Chef’s Festival. Gourmets walked around the park to appreciate the fantastic Three Gorges Dam and the spectacular scenery of the three gorges and pondered the magnificent road of Bachu cuisine. The 28th China Chef’s Festival ended successfully, and Bachu cuisine impressed the gourmets deeply.

　　“Yichang is endowed with green mountains, clean rivers, and beautiful environment, which are regarded as a favorable factor for natural and fresh ingredients, therefore you can always taste savory dishes in Yichang.” Xue Jianbo, a master of Fujian cuisine, summed up Yichang cuisine with the word “fresh”. After a few days of experience, he believed that the deliciousness of Yichang cuisine needs more innovation and publicity. “We have to make people from elsewhere know that Yichang is a city of mountains and rivers as well as a city with delicious food.”

　　How to build Yichang a city of delicacy after the event? For that question, now more and more chefs in Yichang are constantly pursuing the “spirit of craftsmen” and seeking the breakthrough path.

　　It took more than a month for Jiang Jianxin, the head chef of the Three Gorges Project Hotel, to make a table of delicacy named “Xiajiang Celebration Banquet”. Jiang Junxian and other food masters spoke highly of the dish named “Huaxi snail” cooked with the combined Chinese and western cooking techniques. They also said that it was great to have the exquisite dish, with the authentic Bashu flavor and the world famous ones.

　　“Yichang cuisine is delicious, but there is no unified making standard for the dishes and brand effect is quite weak.” Jiang Jianxin, head chef, said. Therefore he suggested that as a chef it is necessary to make full use of local food ingredients and master strong basic skills in cooking however to bring advanced and fashionable cooking ideas back to Yichang by being innovative and learning more from others by “going global” is also of great significance. “But we can’t be too anxious for quick success because to make standardized dishes with exquisite skill, turn common ingredients into excellent, fragrant and tasty branded dishes, and finally go global require the efforts of several generations. ”

　　“It has brought huge business opportunities and a challenge to Yichang’s catering industry on this festival and effectively promoted the delicacy and culture of Yichang. The China Chef’s Festival not only offers a stage to show the chefs’ inheritance, innovation and craftsman spirit but also brings unprecedented inspiration to the practitioners of Yichang’s catering industry, thus pushing forward the Yichang’s tertiary industry to a higher level.” Ma Jianlin, president of Yichang Cooking Hotel Industry Association, said. He also addressed “Yichang catering industry should not only ‘go global’, but also ‘bring in’. In terms of management, it should be in line with large and medium-sized cities and international standards. And it should discover traditional cuisine, infuse cultural connotation, and enrich product structure, so as to refine products with Yichang characteristics and publicize the product by packaging. ( Journalist Tian Xiaochun, Li Yang)