The opening ceremony for a two-day event called “Creative City of Gastronomy-Macau, Shunde Food and Culture Exchange Programme” (創意城市美食之都澳門、順德飲食文化交流大會) was held yesterday at MGM MACAU in Nape.
The event ends today.
MGM’s statement said that the event aims to promote and enhance tourism industry cooperation between Macau and Shunde, and to share Lingnan food culture with local students. It is jointly hosted by the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM), Shunde Polytechnic, and MGM.
Shunde district, known as Shuntak in Cantonese, is a district of Foshan city in Guangdong province, located in the Pearl River Delta. Shunde is about 95 kilometres north-west of Macau.
The statement said that Zuo Xianghua, deputy director general of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR; Cheng Wai Tong, deputy director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO); Chan Ioc Sut, head of the Research and Investigation Department of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ); Leong I On, head of the Division of Secondary Education of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DESDJ); MGM President and Strategic and Chief Financial Officer Feng Siao Feng; Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan; and Lo Sio Bo, school manager of Shunde Polytechnic, attended the opening ceremony.
The statement noted that UNESCO has designated Shunde and Macau as Creative Cities of Gastronomy, adding that Shunde and Macau have jointly established “Tourism Education and Training Base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” (粵港澳大灣區旅遊教育培訓基地) as the basis for IFTM and Shunde Polytechnic to train and educate trainees on international project promotions and their professional skills.
The statement also said that the core project for enhancing tourism education between Macau and Shunde is “Yue and Macanese Cuisine Chef Training’’.
“Yue” is another name for Guangdong. Consequently, Cantonese cuisine is also named Yue cuisine.
Customarily, the term “Macanese” refers to Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese and Asian extraction as well as their culture, traditions and cuisine.
The statement pointed out that yesterday’s event invited three Chinese culinary master chefs to demonstrate traditional cooking methods and knife skills from Shunde. They were Li Yongtai, Zhong Yumei, and Sun Yongkang.
Feng said in his opening ceremony speech that persistence was the key for Macau’s long-term development in tourism. Feng mentioned that Macau’s food promotion events have been a major element in attracting tourists such as the “iconic” Oktoberfest Beer Festival, and the “creative” MGM Chef Nic Gastronomic Festival.
Vong mentioned in her speech that IFTM has been constantly involving itself in tourism development projects in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) because Macau is a integral part of it. She agreed with Feng’s statement about being persistent, as it was the key for the GBA’s long-term tourism development irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants attend yesterday’s “Creative City of Gastronomy-Macau, Shunde Food and Culture Exchange Programme” event at MGM Macau in Nape. Photo: Ula Cheang
