On May 18th, an activity called“the training course of Chinese Food” was jointly held by the Confucius Institute at Azerbaijan University of Languages and Azerbaijan national catering center in the 12th vocational technical school of Baku. And we specially invited the Great Wall Restaurant to join us. The director of Azerbaijan national catering center, the vice president of the International Cooking Association Tayal Almiranov, the senior adviser to the Azerbaijan Department of vocational education, ministry of education, Mrs. Zulfugarova participated in the activity. Nearly 300 students from 4 vocational technical schools in Azerbaijan viewed the whole activity. ARB, ITV and periodical office S-N-TKAR made special reports for it.
This activity was carried out by Changrong Li, the senior chef of Beijing Hotel and Guangxin Chen, the chef of the the Great Wall Restaurant, assisted by teachers of the Confucius Institute at Azerbaijan University of Languages. The activity was divided into two parts: the first was Chinese food culture exhibition, and the second was Chinese food training.
The senior adviser to Azerbaijan Department of vocational education, ministry of education, Mrs. Zulfugarova gave a speech to welcome the students and teachers from the Confucius Institute, and she called on students to grasp the chance to broaden their horizon and improve skill level.
During the cultural exhibition, the stuff present watched a documentary related to the Chinese cuisine and enjoyed the wonderful shows performed by students and teachers from Confucius Institute. Teachers of Confucius Institute Liu yunrui and Wang Hangyan sang the Rapper Face which is a Beijing flavor song.
Chen Qianqiu played the Hulusi-solo of New Song of Awa People.
Chen Xiaozhen showed the Chinese tea art performance,
and the student from Confucius Institute Mary performed a popular dance Cream.
The colourful performances filled with Chinese elements were warmly welcomed by the audiences.
Students from vocational schools also showed their passionate poetry reading.
After the joint performance, the much-anticipated food training course eventually started. The two master workers Li Changrong and Chen Guangxin and the teacher from Confucius Institute Fan Jiahao taught the students how to cook the authentic Chinese cuisine. Fry, deep-fry, saute and stew, the chefs’ superb cooking skills were highly praised by the students who tasted the food eagerly.
Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, kung pao chicken, cherry shrimp, Beijing sauce shredded meat, glutinous sesame ball, spring rolls, eggplant box, dumpling and numerous foods were cooked during the food training course.
The Chinese food which is a perfect combination of color, aroma and taste got an enthusiastic response from students. After tasting, all students said that Chinese food was well-deserved reputation. And they dreamed of becoming Chinese cooks one day. They wished more Azerbaijani people can have the chance to taste the delicious Chinese food.
The director of the national catering center of Azerbaijan Tayal Almiranov thought that this activity had an important guiding significance to develop the Azerbaijan’s national food and improve the skills of local cooks.
Li Jihua, the Chinese dean of the Confucius Institute at Azerbaijan University of Languages and professor Rafik Abbasov, the foreign president of the institute said that Chinese food had a long history, unique recipes, rich varieties and special cooking methods, and it was an important part of Chinese culture.
The activity has built a bridge of friendship for the cultural exchange and communication between China and Azerbaijan. By holding activities like this, the influence of Confucius Institute has been greatly improved. It also showed the unique charm of Chinese culture and enhanced the recognition of Chinese culture and Confucius institute to the overseas people.
The national catering center of Azerbaijan awarded honorary certificates to the Confucius Institute and cooks after the activity.
