Yueyang barbecue Photo: Screenshot from the website of Yueyang News

A barbecue research institute is set to be established in Yueyang , Central China’s Hunan Province to cultivate talent to promote local barbecue industry and culinary culture, with the enrollment of students beginning next year, expecting to train 1,000 barbecue chefs within three years.

Yueyang Open University and Yueyang City Barbecue Association recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly establish the “Yueyang Barbecue Research Institute,” focusing on talent development in barbecue-related fields, chinanews.com.cn reported on Monday. 

According to Yue Yanhua, Party secretary of the Yueyang Open University, the “barbecue industrial college” will provide training for barbecue professionals, offer qualification upgrades for industry practitioners and improve their technical skills and innovative abilities. It will also offer a “Yueyang Barbecue” major for junior high school dropouts, aiming to strengthen and expand vocational education related to Yueyang barbecue.

Since the project is currently in the planning stage, it would be rushed to start student recruitment this year. According to a staff member surnamed Qiao from the Yueyang City Barbecue Association, recruitment is expected to begin with the general public.

According to Qiao, the trainees are expected to earn a vocational secondary school diploma. The teaching will likely be divided into theoretical and practical components. Members of the city’s barbecue association, many of whom are local barbecue chefs, including well-known restaurant owners, will also participate in teaching. In the future, vocational skills training from China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will also be integrated into the curriculum.

In May, “barbecue chef” was among the 17 new occupations proposed by the ministry.

Moreover, a series of industry standards, talent evaluation standards and industrial development plan for Yueyang barbecue will be drafted to promote it nationwide, according to Yue.

The vocational college will work with the barbecue association to develop a series of specialized courses, and plans to train the first batch of 1,000 Yueyang barbecue professionals with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills within the next three years.

In the future, interested students can enroll through formal channels and train to become barbecue chef.

According to the Yueyang City Barbecue Association, Yueyang barbecue is an important part of the local culinary culture. With its strong regional characteristics and everyday appeal, it stands out as a unique presence in the barbecue industry.

Originating in the 1980s, Yueyang barbecue has gradually become one of Hunan’s signature foods. With a wide variety of offerings, each with its own unique characteristics, it has developed distinct charm and wide influence.

The people of Yueyang have refined traditional barbecue techniques based on local ingredients and tastes and have expanded the offerings of traditional beef and lamb skewers to more than 300 varieties to satisfy diverse tastes.

Source: Global Times