The four-month “Macanese Cuisine Culinary Heritage Masterclasses”, co-organised by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) and Wynn Macau, kicked off yesterday at the resort’s banquet hall in Nape.
MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong said in a speech during the opening ceremony that from this month to next April, a group of renowned Macanese cuisine chefs will provide a culinary exchange and learning opportunity for more than 100 local students and catering workers to cultivate their culinary talents.
DSEDJ Secondary Education Division Chief Leong I On said in a speech at the event that six of the seven sessions will be held at the bureau’s Vocational and Technical Education Activities Centre, which was set up to develop students’ interest and ability in vocational skills, adding that since 2020 about 200 cooking experience classes have been held for local secondary school students at the centre’s International Cooking Area, attracting about 5,000 people to participate in the classes.
Leong also said that his bureau will continue to promote the development of vocational and technical education, so as to cultivate local catering and culinary talents.
Meanwhile, Cheng told reporters after the kick-off ceremony that Macanese cuisine is one of Macau’s specialities, adding that this year seven chefs famous for their Macanese cuisine skills were specially invited as teachers, hoping to help local students gain a new understanding of Macanese cuisine, and to pass it down to the next generations, while enhancing the ability of local catering professionals, and training them to develop an international vision.
An MGTO statement yesterday noted that Macanese cuisine was included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macau in 2012, and that it was also included in the list of representative items of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage last year.
Macanese cookery is a centuries-old tricontinental fusion cuisine comprising Portuguese, Chinese, Malay, Indian and African recipes and ingredients.
Cozinha Aida near Hoi Fu Garden estate is one of Macau’s most famous Macanese restaurants. It is named for Dona Aida de Jesus, the highly respected and widely beloved doyenne of Macanese cuisine, who passed away in March last year at the age of 105.
“Cozinha” is Portuguese for “kitchen”.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong talks to reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of “Macanese Cuisine Culinary Heritage Masterclasses” yesterday at Wynn Macau’s banquet hall in Nape.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
