Taizhou Government and China Cuisine Association Sign Strategic-Cooperation Framework Agreement Shen Mingquan and Yang Liu Address Ceremony

On the afternoon of May 21, the Taizhou Municipal Government and the China Cuisine Association (CCA) formally signed a strategic-cooperation framework agreement aimed at upgrading the city’s catering sector, accelerating the high-quality development of Taizhou cuisine, and bolstering Taizhou’s bid to become a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Addressing the ceremony, Party Secretary of Taizhou Municipal Committee, Shen Mingquan and CCA President Yang Liu hailed the partnership as a milestone for turning local culinary heritage into high-quality growth. Chen Tingchen, member of the Standing Committee of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee and secretary-general, attended the event. Vice-Mayor Cheng Weibo and Huo Haimei, specially invited vice-president of the CCA, signed the agreement on behalf of the two sides.

Shen extended the city government’s gratitude to the CCA for its staunch support in promoting Taizhou delicacies.

“Food is the paramount necessity of the people, Shen noted. Cuisine is the very aroma of a city and the key to decoding its culture.” With centuries-old culinary roots, a solid industry foundation, and a well-established brand portfolio, Taizhou is now forging ahead with its bid to become a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. “The CCA is our indispensable mentor and strategic think-tank,” Shen said, expressing hope that the Association will leverage its professional and resource strengths to empower the city in recipe R&D, catering-sector growth and brand building, guiding Taizhou toward the coveted gastronomy title.

He pledged that Taizhou will seize the signing as a springboard to tell better food stories, map out a citywide culinary guide and foster flagship restaurant groups, aiming to create a magnet for Michelin-starred and Black Pearl-listed establishments and to raise the profile of “Taizhou Cuisine” at home and abroad, ultimately delivering a stronger sense of gain and happiness to local residents.

Yang Liu noted that bidding for the UNESCO title is a concrete step toward implementing President Xi Jinping’s directives on cultural inheritance and development, as well as a powerful vehicle for burnishing the city’s image and raising its profile.

“Taizhou cuisine, a flagship of Zhejiang fare, champions pristine umami, respects original taste and embraces harmonious fusion,” Yang noted. In recent years, flagship chains—Xinrongji, Linjiayi, Shunji among them—have carried Taizhou flavors beyond the province and across the globe, sharply raising the cuisine’s visibility.

“The CCA and Taizhou are bonded by food. This agreement will inject fresh momentum into local culinary innovation and integration, and will energize the city’s food-and-beverage market,” she said, expressing hope that the two sides will keep opening new cooperation frontiers, leverage complementary strengths, and share resources to unearth and celebrate Taizhou’s gastronomic identity. “Together we will present the delectable charm of this mountain-sea-river city to the world in all dimensions, helping Taizhou evolve into a landmark food destination recognized nationwide and worldwide.”

Under the agreement, the two parties will deepen multi-dimensional collaboration in building the “Taizhou Cuisine” brand, cultivating leading restaurant enterprises, developing dishes that highlight local ingredients, strengthening culinary talent training, hosting professional skills competitions, and creating nationally influential gastronomy events— jointly propelling Taizhou’s bid for a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Translator：JingJing Shi