Shandong cuisine highlighted in nationwide promotion by Wanda

Wanda Hotels & Resorts, a business unit of Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, kicked off a nationwide campaign to promote Shandong cuisine last Thursday in Jining, Shandong province, by joining hands with a Michelin restaurant.

As one of the eight major culinary styles in China, Shandong cuisine, or Lu cuisine, has a long history dating back to ancient China.

Dong Jun, vice-president of Wanda Hotels & Resorts, presented an appointment letter to Wang Haoquan, a winner of the Michelin Young Chef Award and the principal of the Lu Shang Lu Shandong Cuisine Restaurant, a Michelin one-star restaurant based in Beijing, at the ceremony.

Wang will serve as a special consultant for Lu cuisine at Wanda Hotels & Resorts, working with star chefs of the hotels to promote the new style of Lu cuisine nationwide starting from August.

"We aim to set a bench mark in the industry for the inheritance and innovation of Lu cuisine by offering industry-leading products and services," Dong said.

By taking advantage of the centralized operation of the hotel group and cooperating with Lu Shang Lu, an industrial pioneer in innovating Lu cuisine, Dong said the group will continue to support the development of Lu cuisine in terms of food supply chain, talent development and banquet reform.

Wanda Realm Jining has been selected as the first leg of the promotion. "Jining, known as the hometown of Confucius, and the capital of the canal, is an important birthplace of Shandong cuisine," said general manager Su Wei.

In early August, Wang and the star chef arrived at Jining to attend a seminar on innovative Shandong cuisine together with local renowned chefs in the city, a prelude to the national promotion.

While showcasing their unique skills at the seminar, the chef co-developed two dishes, which will be included in the menu of feasts to promote Shandong cuisine.

One of the dishes was created based on a traditional dish called "Boshan Tofu Box", but winter melon is used as a substitute for tofu to make the box. Crabmeat and chicken broth were made for rich and flavorful topping, while sea cucumber, shrimp, chicken, wild rice and oats were stir-fried together to make the filling. The dish is good-looking, fresh, sweet and nutritionally rich.

Wanda Hotels & Resorts has more than 140 operational hotels, with more than 260 hotels under construction or in the pipeline, spanning over 200 cities worldwide.