A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties: Showcasing the Cultural Charm of Taizhou Cuisine

In 2022, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce announced the third batch of provincial-level "Picturesque Zhejiang·A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties" gastronomic experience (demonstration) venues, among which 20 catering establishments in Taizhou made the list.

To date, Taizhou has established 35 provincial-level gastronomic experience (demonstration) venues and 51 municipal-level gastronomic experience (demonstration) flagship stores.

High-Standard Presentation of "Taizhou Delicacies"

Hanshan lotus seeds, Yongxi fragrant fish, Nanhu braised pork, Guoqing arhat vegetarian feast, Tiantai polygonatum—each exquisite dish forms a unique mountain city feast that tempts diners to indulge. At Tiantai Radisson Rongyuan Hotel, guests can choose the "A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties·Flavors of Taizhou" classic set menu and savor the charm of Tiantai cuisine.

With its high-caliber dishes and premium service, Tiantai Radisson Rongyuan Hotel was successfully selected as a provincial-level "Picturesque Zhejiang·A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties" gastronomic experience (demonstration) venue. "Some of Tiantai County's Thousand Delicacies showcase local ingredients, others demonstrate distinctive regional cooking techniques, while still others carry forward unique folk recipes. Take lotus seeds, for instance—they appear in both wedding and funeral banquets among Tiantai locals and embody the spirit of harmony, serving as a microcosm of Tiantai culture," explained Yu Jianfeng, the hotel's Food and Beverage Director.

Building on its existing repertoire, Radisson Rongyuan Hotel plans to deepen its culinary development and cultural exploration. "In line with the provincial Thousand Delicacies initiative and based on our current offerings, we will continue to develop more dishes to form a system of '10 cold dishes + 10 hot dishes + 10 desserts.' At the same time, drawing on Tiantai Mountain's heritage as a cradle of Buddhism and Taoism, we aim to create Zen vegetarian and pure vegetarian banquets," Yu added.

Beyond pursuing culinary excellence, Taizhou's various gastronomic experience (demonstration) venues and flagship stores have also invested considerable effort in cultivating the Thousand Delicacies ambiance, promoting its content, and leveraging media outreach.

Upon entering the ordering area of Taizhou New Century Grand Hotel, visitors are immediately greeted by eye-catching lightboxes introducing Thousand Delicacies dishes. Scanning the QR code on these lightboxes reveals details about the ingredients, cooking methods, and cultural stories behind each dish. "In addition to promoting Thousand Delicacies in the ordering area, we have set up small table displays incorporating Taizhou's 'mountain and sea' elements in the dining area. We've also designed Thousand Delicacies-themed chopstick covers and toothpicks to immerse diners in Taizhou's culinary culture and humanistic charm. Furthermore, we provide standardized training for our staff, ensuring that dedicated servers can fluently explain the cultural anecdotes associated with each dish," said Ying Jianlong, Head of Communications at Taizhou New Century Grand Hotel.

Haiyi Grand Hotel, located within the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant complex, specializes in East China Sea seafood, Sanmen small seafood, and Sanmen local snacks. Benefiting from its connection to the nuclear power system, the hotel has more avenues for promoting the Thousand Delicacies brand. "Internally, through Thousand Delicacies food sharing sessions, we give employees the opportunity to taste authentic Sanmen cuisine. Dishes such as mudskippers, green crabs, tea-smoked prawns, and pine pollen cakes have received particularly positive feedback from staff. Externally, in addition to regular operations, we frequently host high-level receptions, which also play an active role in promoting Sanmen's culinary offerings," said Huang Min, Head of CNNC Kaili Catering Sanmen Branch.

Forging the Golden Brand "Fresh in Taizhou"

In October 2021, the expert evaluation panel of the Taizhou Catering Industry Association completed on-site assessments of 41 establishments that had applied for designation as "A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties·Fresh in Taizhou" specialty gastronomic experience venues. Among them, Sanmen Haiyi Grand Hotel, Taizhou New Century Grand Hotel, and Tiantai Radisson Rongyuan Hotel achieved "flagship store" scores, ranking in the top three.

This marked the third round of "A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties·Fresh in Taizhou" experience venue development since Taizhou launched the initiative in 2019. Over the past three years, Taizhou has successfully cultivated a number of Thousand Delicacies experience venues. Through online publicity and offline exchange activities, it has effectively told the story of Taizhou cuisine, fostering a landscape of diverse integration, multi-point flourishing, and colorful development for Taizhou's Thousand Delicacies, while establishing a new benchmark for local gastronomy.

"The selection of Thousand Delicacies dishes across Taizhou consistently highlights the most representative specialties of each county (city, district). Among the selected catering establishments, we have both upscale star-rated hotels and rustic farmhouse restaurants, covering different consumer segments. Through three years of promotion and development, the establishment of Taizhou's Thousand Delicacies experience venues has become more mature, and public awareness of the brand has deepened significantly," said Liu Xiaomin, Executive President and Secretary-General of the Taizhou Catering Industry Association.

Guided by high standards and rigorous requirements, Thousand Delicacies experience venues across the region are striving for excellence. Meanwhile, Taizhou is actively building gastronomic ecosystems, developing food streets and culinary towns such as Jiaojiang Food Street, Linhai Ziyang Street, and Sanmen Panjia Town Shuifang Street. Agreements have been signed for 18 Thousand Delicacies experience venues to settle in the China Food Street. This centralized display and operation model has facilitated the integration of culture, tourism, and commerce, while also advancing the branding, scaling, and market-oriented development of Taizhou's Thousand Delicacies offerings.

Cuisine That "Goes Global" and "Comes Alive"

From "creation" to "clustering," and in pursuit of further "breaking the circle," Taizhou's Thousand Delicacies has chosen to proactively "go global."

In June 2021, the Taizhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports brought Thousand Delicacies cuisine to the Old Bund in Jiangbei District, Ningbo, earning praise from both Chinese and international visitors. In September 2021, at the 2021 "Picturesque Zhejiang·A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties" tourism food promotion event held in "Hengdian Dream Bund," Jinhua City, Taizhou showcased dishes such as Jiaobingtong (stuffed pancake rolls), Hulatai (thin crispy pancake), Jigong Drunken Chicken, and Xiaochangjuan (rolled pork intestines), which proved highly popular among attendees. Additionally, Taizhou's Thousand Delicacies restaurants successfully signed a letter of intent with Zhejiang Qin Group and will eventually establish a presence in Hangzhou Nongdu Food Town.

From "standardization" to "distinctiveness," Taizhou continues to explore and innovate new models for promoting and experiencing Thousand Delicacies cuisine, bringing its food IP to life and connecting culinary experiences.

Sanmen County plans to delve deeper into the "Eating the Memory of Mountains and Seas" theme of the Thousand Delicacies initiative, forging a new culinary impression of "Flavors of Mountains and Seas, Sweet and Fresh Sanmen." It aims to create a new IP image of "Hailiang + Small Seafood" and develop related cultural creative products and materials. At the same time, it will orchestrate a comprehensive banquet packaging strategy centered on the themes of "visualizing freshness and sweetness" and "impressionizing freshness and sweetness."

Yuhuan City, on the other hand, leverages digital technology to create an "all-cycle gastronomic experience 'one-stop'" project for "Picturesque Zhejiang·A Thousand Delicacies from a Hundred Counties," structured around a "1+5+N" framework. "The 'All-Cycle Seafood Gastronomic Experience One-Stop' project in Yuhuan establishes a comprehensive service system, credit system, and regulatory framework for the tourism and catering industry. This stimulates the endogenous vitality of Yuhuan's East China Sea seafood brand and fosters a favorable image for the tourist city. At the same time, through high-quality and efficient services, it expands business channels for local catering enterprises, attracts various merchants to set up operations, and inspires new models of gastronomic consumption," explained a representative from the Yuhuan Tourism Development Center.

Translator：Jiayang Lin