A total of 9,918 people from Zhanjiang have received training from the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project since it was launched in 2018. More than 80 percent of the participants have since found employment or started their own businesses.

The project has cultivated a batch of talents for the city's catering industry. It has also been beneficial to the local poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, employment, and entrepreneurship efforts.

The project has been focusing on the poverty-stricken areas in Zhanjiang, with training courses especially opened for impoverished people.

Zhang Fei, a 22-year-old registered impoverished person from Xuwen county in Zhanjiang, attended the one-month training course of the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project at the suggestion of his cousin in 2018.

He gained a keen interest in cooking through the one-month training course and decided to apply for the full-time culinary education courses offered by Zhanjiang Commercial Technical School.

To strengthen the systematic training of Cantonese cuisine masters, the three municipal technical schools in Zhanjiang, including Zhanjiang Commercial Technical School, have set up majors related to Cantonese cuisine, with more than 600 students.

After two years of study, Zhang obtained the certificate of intermediate cook. This year, Zhang was arranged by the school to work as an intern chef at Zhanjiang Haibin Hotel, where he can earn about 2,200 yuan ($311) in salary per month during his internship.

A variety of cooking skills competitions have been held in Zhanjiang. [Photo/southcn.com]

In addition, the project brings training courses for impoverished people in Liuzhou in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which Zhanjiang is paired with to support the city's poverty alleviation efforts.

The first training class of the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project in Liuzhou was opened by Zhanjiang Commercial Technical School in August 2019 in Sanjiang county of Liuzhou, training 50 people.

New developmental models like Cantonese cuisine masters plus rural tourism have been created during the implementation of the project by utilizing the tourism resources in the city's rural areas, traditional food, and featured agricultural products.

Hutoupo village is a provincial poverty-stricken village in Zhanjiang, with 437 impoverished people.

The village has been cooperating with Gao Fei Cantonese Cuisine Master Studio to optimize the quality of agricultural products through scientific planting and create innovative dishes to enhance added value, which also helps boost the development of local rural tourism.

To date, all the impoverished households in Hutoupo village have been lifted out of poverty.

"The project should not only help people increase their incomes, but also be an engine to promote the development of Zhanjiang's food culture," said Tan Xiaomin, president of Zhanjiang Commercial Technical School.

A total of five Cantonese cuisine masters cooking skills competitions have been held in Zhanjiang since the implementation of the "Cantonese Cuisine Master" project, allowing chefs to conduct exchanges with each other and display the city's profound food culture.