Chef training in Cantonese cuisine rolls out

A training program for chefs focusing on Cantonese food in Guangdong province has played a significant role in boosting employment and promoting high-quality development, according to an official with the local human resources authority.

"We will expand the program by training more chefs in Cantonese-cuisine and launch more tailored training services across the province to help promote employment," said Liu Zhengrang, an inspector with the Guangdong Human resources and Social Security Department.

More than 40,000 people across the province are expected to receive the training this year, Liu said during a news conference on Monday.

Since the program was launched in late 2018, 446,000 people have received the training. Some 916,000 people have found jobs or opened catering businesses, the authority said.

Over the past few years, 100 Cantonese-cuisine chef training bases and 100 more cooking-master studios were established, helping develop more than 3,000 star-rated chefs, it said.

To better promote the program, a chef skills competition is scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Meizhou, where Hakka food, a branch of Cantonese cuisine, originated.