Recent national recognition a major step toward greater standardization of bubbling food sector

Customers enjoy hotpot during a hotpot festival held in Chongqing in October last year. (ZOU LE / FOR CHINA DAILY)

As the soup simmers over a flame, meat and vegetables are placed into the pot to cook and diners choose what they want when they are ready to eat. But in the end, it seems people do need a chef to cook when they want hotpot.

Making a delicious base and preparing the ingredients properly is not easy and requires professional skills.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently published the latest edition of the reference book of occupational classifications, and "hotpot chef" has joined the list under the category of "Chinese cook".

This new inclusion has raised the spirits of the great number of people who work in the sector, who now have their long-awaited "occupational identity cards".

Hotpot is believed to have spread through northern China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was popular across the country.

Although there are many regional variations, Chongqing hotpot differs from other styles with its spicy, numbing soup base, special meats and sauces. When people talk about "spicy hotpot", they usually mean Chongqing hotpot, which has the strongest flavor thanks to its use of beef tallow and large quantities of chile and Sichuan peppers.

With both the best and largest number of hotpot restaurants, Chongqing was named the country's "hotpot city" by the China Cuisine Association in 2007.

"We're all very excited," said Chen Guohua, chairman of the Chongqing Hotpot Association. "This is a milestone in the history of the development of hotpot in China. This new occupational recognition could permit many ordinary restaurant workers to become skilled chefs."

Customers dine at Dongting Hotpot restaurant in an underground air raid shelter in Chongqing, on Aug 28. (WU HAO / FOR CHINA DAILY)

As defined by the Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Chongqing Hotpot Association last year, "hotpot chef" refers to a person who makes the hotpot soup base, sauces and dips, prepares hotpot dishes, does dish matching and slicing and has a certain degree of catering and management ability.

Wang Wenjun, a 55-year-old local hotpot expert, said that Chinese cooks capable of making one of the country's eight major regional cuisines haven't won at any WorldSkills Competitions — the "Oscars" of vocational education and skills excellence — but hotpot chefs might.

He said about 25 years ago, he established Badaotang Chongqing Lupai Hotpot, a Chongqing hotpot franchise that has gradually gained a foothold in the local market, but working in such a big industry without a professional identity, hotpot chefs like him were not able to take part in national or international occupational skills competitions.

"We were in an awkward position," Wang said.

Cai Yong, an official from the municipal human resources and social security bureau, said with the latest designation of hotpot chefs, "it is our duty to create jobs — more specifically, good quality, decent jobs".

According to the bureau, there are nearly 10 million people working in the hotpot sector across the country, and at the end of last year, there were 30,000 hotpot restaurants in Chongqing, employing at least 800,000 people.

According to the China's Chain Catering Industry Report 2022 released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association and China Renaissance, hotpot is more likely to achieve scale and standardization compared to other catering categories due to its popularity. The trend for future development is obvious.

Chongqing hotpot differs from other styles with its spicy, numbing soup base, special meats and sauces. (WANG QUANCHAO / XINHUA)

The report said that as of last year, there were about 41,600 hotpot brands nationwide. The sector was worth 529.5 billion yuan ($73.2 billion) in 2019 and is expected to reach 641.3 billion yuan by 2024.

Chongqing hotpot enjoys global recognition as well. Customs statistics from last year show that Chongqing hotpot spicy soup base products were sold in 22 countries and regions, with an average of 900 metric tons exported annually.

Local brands such as Liuyishou, Dezhuang, Little Swan and Qin Ma have opened more than 200 hotpot restaurants in over 20 countries and regions worth some $228 million. Cai said that in order to come up with an occupational proposal for hotpot chefs last year, the bureau worked with a variety of associations and companies in Chongqing for years, conducting discussions and research.

"With the standardization of training and occupational identification, the sector is opening itself up to a big opportunity to develop and grow, both at home and abroad," Cai said.

To maintain high-quality development, the bureau listed "hotpot chef" as a regional featured occupation and started training prospective chefs in 2015. Some 60,000 people have obtained a vocational competence certificate for hotpot making, and Chongqing has held two national and nine regional hotpot vocational skills competitions so far.

Cai said they will try to obtain an occupational development qualification for hotpot chefs, and transform it from a municipal to a national standard. The process is expected to take one or two years.

Wang, the hotpot expert, said, "I believe becoming a hotpot chef will be a new choice for many people in the catering industry in the future, and the sector's development will be more orderly."

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn