Guangzhou's new drive on poverty alleviation: innovative ways to cultivate talents in Cantonese cuisine. Hundreds of outstanding chefs from 23 cities gathered in Guangzhou as the capital of South China's Guangdong Province played host to the second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cantonese Cuisine Master Skills Competition and Exchanges on Cantonese Cuisine Industry Development on Nov 29-30, 2019. With a blend of competition, cultural exchange, presentations, experience and performances, the event brought together culinary cultures of the Greater Bay Area and consolidated the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" program through talent cultivation and cultural exchange. At the same time, Guangzhou has carved out a cuisine-oriented path to poverty alleviation by improving policy institutions and innovating ways to train talents in Cantonese cuisine. With the aromas of different boutique dishes, such as Chaoshan Marinated Goose, Roasted Crispy Suckling Pig, Portuguese-style Chicken, and Flavored Fish Balls, attendees couldn't help having a taste. All food offered was prepared by cooks from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, some of whom had been trained under the Guangdong-initiated "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project. "Up to 30,200 people have been trained under the project, leading 96,000 people to secure employment and start their businesses and helping many urban and rural workers find skilled jobs, lift themselves out of poverty and even make a fortune," Yang Hongshan, vice director-general of the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province, said in his opening speech of the event. China is now rolling out its basic strategy of targeted poverty alleviation. Since Guangzhou represents the cradle of Cantonese cuisine and the central city of the Greater Bay Area and China, Guangzhou will develop a focused area of Cantonese cuisine talents and deliver better services to alleviate poverty. Established in Conghua district, the "backyard garden of Guangzhou", the first Cantonese Cuisine Master Workshop in the city comprises 23 chefs and head cooks from Guangzhou's reputed hotels. They plan, in three years, to customize food for local agritainment activities and train local cooks. By cooperating with universities and enterprises, Guangzhou has launched various Cantonese Cuisine Master training platforms and workshops, cultivating thousands of capable professionals in Cantonese cuisine and over 350 Cantonese Cuisine Masters in the rural area. On top of promoting the culture of Cantonese cuisine, the city has innovated ways to better prepare apprentices of the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" program for employment and advance targeted poverty alleviation. As a matter of fact, only through the systematic training session can the project develop in full swing. Guangzhou's recent proposal of carrying out 30 priorities under 10 categories has laid the groundwork for a quality "Cantonese Cuisine Master" program. According to Liang Haoran, a participating instructor from the Hong Kong-based Chinese Culinary Institute, a good cook requires not just excellent culinary skills but also an understanding of the concepts and ideas behind these skills. "The competition provided an opportunity for me and my students to learn from other cooks," he added. Cities in the Greater Bay Area have been a major part of the event, with the numbers of participating cities and contestants hitting a record. With that, a platform designed to enhance cultural exchange and cooperation within the Greater Bay Area is exerting a clustering effect. A total of 10 Macao cooks participated in the competition, said Kuang Zifeng, the executive director of the Trade Union of Macao Catering Industry, adding that the approach to talent cultivation would sharpen their skills and enable budding cooks to better understand the structure and history of Cantonese cuisine. With accelerated progress made in building the Greater Bay Area, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have been more interconnected. That means building the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" program into a shining brand of the culinary culture is inevitable here in advancing the development of the catering industry in the Greater Bay Area. Source: The Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province