Some Richmond chefs showcased their culinary arts and brought home gold awards from a global competition this week.
The ninth World Championship of Chinese Cuisine (WCCC) took place at the PNE Forum in Vancouver from May 21 to 23 – it was the first time this international event has been held in Canada.
More than 150 teams from around the world participated in this competition including many from Richmond, a city known for its wide variety of Asian cuisine, according to the organizer.
Wei Lai, chief dessert chef of Lanxuan Restaurant near No.3 Road and Capstan Way, is one of the chefs from Richmond who participated in the competition. Having worked as a dim sum chef for more than 30 years, Lai along with his team members, Joe Zou, Xuebin Chen and Wilson Wu, won gold in the team competition.
"We are very happy to receive the gold prize. It was the first time four of us had worked together and we had to plan and make the cuisine outside of everyone's busy schedule, which was not easy," said Lai.
He said the team consists exclusively of chefs from Richmond who cooked two cold dishes, two hot dishes and two desserts in the Cantonese cuisine style for the competition.
Lai created the two desserts – black sesame balls with bird nests and crispy durian cake, which won him a gold medal in the individual category.
"The main purpose of us participating in the competition is to learn from and exchange experience from well-known chefs from all over the world," said Lai.
"It was a great opportunity especially for the younger chefs in our team so they could improve their cooking skills, preparing themselves to reach a higher level in the future."
There are special, gold and silver awards given away at the competition, according to the organizer.
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