Cantonese cuisine chefs compete cooking skills. [File photo by Wen Bo]

The Zhongshan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau released the "Action Plan for the Implementation of 'Cantonese Cuisine Chef Project' in Zhongshan City (2019-2022)" on October 12. (hereinafter referred to as "the Action Plan").

According to the Action Plan, from 2019 onwards, Zhongshan will organize at least 2 skill competitions among Cantonese cuisine chefs per year. More than 300 Cantonese cuisine chefs will be trained each year and this number will increase year by year.

By 2022, Zhongshan will have built a number of master workshops for Cantonese cuisine chefs (4 at the provincial level, 20 municipal and 20 township) and a number of Cantonese cuisine chef training bases (2 at the provincial level, 4 municipal and 8 township). In addition, Zhongshan will strive to create 1 or 2 national-level master workshops and training bases. In total, more than 2,000 Cantonese cuisine chefs will be trained. This will go a long way in helping 10,000 people get employed or starting their own businesses.

Zhongshan will in 2019 select "Top 10 Famous and Excellent Food Ingredients", "Top 10 Famous Chefs", "Top 10 Famous Banquets", "Top 10 Famous Dishes" and "Top 20 Famous Restaurants" of Zhongshan Cantonese cuisine, and directly award the Honorary National Master title to the famous chefs and masters who deserve it. 

The Zhongshan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau plans to build a Zhongshan Cantonese Cuisine Chef Training College in Wuguishan Campus of the Zhongshan Technician College to guide vocational colleges (technician colleges) and vocational training institutions in strengthening the infrastructure of Guangdong cuisine chef training institute, improving the allocation of venues, facilities, equipment and teachers, and equally expanding enrolment and training scale.

In addition, it plans to upgrade Zhongshan characteristic Cantonese cuisine standards and carry out Cantonese cuisine chef evaluation. Zhongshan will also establish a Zhongshan Cantonese Cuisine Research Institute at the Zhongshan Technician College, invite honorary masters of Zhongshan Cantonese cuisine for an in-depth study on local food and cultural resources, actively develop targeted training projects, and speed up the development of special vocational abilities and vocational training packages for local Cantonese cuisine.

Entrepreneurs interested in Cantonese cuisine and their business entities can enjoy one-time entrepreneurial assistance, rent subsidies, entrepreneurship-driven employment subsidies, entrepreneurial guarantee loans and interest discounts, as well as other entrepreneurial support policies in accordance with relevant regulations.