STORY: Chinese culinary contest wows Egyptian enthusiasts
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 17, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:39
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Chinese dishes
2. various of the awarding ceremony
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WANG GUOHUA, Chef of the China Cultural Center, Judge of the contest
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): YASMIN FESHAWY, Visitor

STORYLINE:

In the festive air of the Chinese Spring Festival, an annual Chinese Cuisine Culinary Competition has concluded in Cairo.

The final race of this year's contest, themed "Chinese Taste Night," was held Saturday night in a hotel with 18 Chinese food lovers and professional chefs from across Egypt cooking two dishes on site for judges to score on skills and tastes.

One of the two dishes is designated as Hot Spicy Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou), a classic dish from Sichuan cuisine. In the final, a first-prize winner, three second-prize winners, and six third prizes were selected.

The race was organized by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo and Soluxe Cairo Hotel as part of the celebration for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 10 this year.

The event offered an opportunity to let more local people experience, in person, the charm and profoundness of Chinese cuisines, and finalists were chosen from 50 signed-up Egyptians, said Shao Bin, deputy director of the China Cultural Center in Cairo.

Some of the competitors had never cooked Chinese food before, but a crash course offered ahead of the race enabled them to gain basic culinary know-how about some major branches of Chinese cuisine, according to the organizer.

Judges consisting of professional Chinese chefs decided which dish stood out and gave tailored feedback to competitors.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WANG GUOHUA, Chef of the China Cultural Center, Judge of the contest
"Egyptian people's love for Chinese food is palpable, and the contestants showed their solid skills and great enthusiasm."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): YASMIN FESHAWY, Visitor
"Today's atmosphere was beautiful. I enjoyed the Chinese culture and the shows that highlighted it. I love Chinese food very much. Today's Chinese cuisine shows were creative and featured various dishes. The chefs' performance was perfect."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)