A Culinary Journey: Black Pearl Catering Insight Summit Held in Taizhou

April 28

The first Black Pearl Restaurant Guide Catering Insight Summit of 2024

was held at Yuanzhou Phoenix Villa in Taizhou.

The 2024 China Fine Dining Industry Insights – Taizhou Regional Edition was released.

At the summit, honorees of the 2024 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Nanchang, along with culinary experts, gathered to analyze industry trends, explore cooking techniques, and share discussions on the heritage and innovation of Taizhou cuisine.

Number of fine dining establishments in Jiaojiang

has ranked first in Taizhou for three consecutive years

The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, launched by Meituan, is an annual list curated jointly by culinary experts, renowned gourmets, and food researchers. Since its inception in 2018, it has advocated selecting “China’s own food list” based on “Chinese palate” standards, with evaluation criteria covering three dimensions: culinary quality, service and ambiance, and heritage and innovation. In the 2024 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, two restaurants in Jiaojiang made the list — Xin Rong Ji (Central Avenue Branch) received two diamonds, and Kelong No.1 (Tengda Center Branch) received one diamond.

In recent years, a growing number of outstanding culinary professionals have chosen to establish their first or new outlets in Taizhou. As the political, cultural, and economic center of Taizhou, Jiaojiang has attracted specialty snack shops from across the region, while representative Taizhou cuisine restaurants such as Xin Rong Ji and Pujiang Hui have also set roots here. According to Meituan data, from 2021 to 2023, the number of fine dining establishments in Taizhou grew significantly, far exceeding the industry average, increasing from 14 to 36. Among them, Jiaojiang has consistently ranked first in the number of fine dining outlets for the past three years, growing from 5 to 16.

“As restaurateurs, we all have ambition — we want to improve our quality and brand. Being listed is a recognition, and everyone is striving for it. This summit facilitates peer exchange and helps us understand the selection criteria,” said Yao Guorong, President of the Jiaojiang Catering Association.

Leveraging Black Pearl to polish Jiaojiang’s gourmet reputation

Today, the influence of the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide continues to grow. It has become not only a trusted choice for fine dining consumers but also an important window for urban food culture exchange. On the day of the summit, a Taizhou Food Industry Exchange and Matchmaking Meeting was also held, where preliminary cooperation intentions were reached on food attraction projects such as Jiaojiang Xinhai Tiandi (Chinese Food Street) and Jiazhi Old Street.

Taizhou is currently actively applying for the title of “World City of Gastronomy.” Jiaojiang has launched a series of events under the theme “Tour in Taizhou, Eat in Jiaojiang,” promoting local flavors labeled as “fresh and savory,” “soft and sticky,” and “sweet and delightful.” It has successively created several food clusters and regional food destinations, including Jiangbin Night Market, Kangping Road, Hailong Road, and Chinese Food Street. Going forward, Jiaojiang will take the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide Catering Insight Summit series as an opportunity to fully leverage Taizhou’s status as a food city, help local catering businesses better understand the evaluation criteria of the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, support more fine dining restaurants in upgrading their quality and accelerating industry growth, and further polish the golden brand of “Eat in Jiaojiang.”

Translator：Jiayang  Lin