NEW YORK—The city’s first outdoor Chinese cooking competition will take place this month in Times Square.
Top Chinese chefs from the world over will whip up their special creations at cooking stations built to look like Tang Dynasty style carts. Ticket-holding audiences will experience a banquet reminiscent of those set in an ancient capital at the height of Chinese civilization.
Wei Jane Chir, art director for New Tang Dynasty TV’s 3rd Annual International Chinese Culinary Competition, describes the event as a cross-cultural promotion connecting one diverse city in history with another diverse city of today.
Ultimately, the event will be a touch of antiquity in a modern setting, a taste of a slower-moving era in the bustling heart of New York. “We want to bring Tang culture, color, and architecture to Times Square, to give [Times Square] some meaning, so it’s not just commercial.”
Chang‘an (now Xi’an) was the capital of China during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Hailed as the golden age of Chinese civilization, the Tang dynasty was a time of exchange in goods, ideas, and culture.
“Every morning, the emperor’s attendants would open the palace doors and welcome the ambassadors, scholars, and monks who came from all over the world,” Chir said. “It was a very open time, a time of sharing. There was no discrimination, no war—it was a time of confidence in China.”
It was also a time of banquets, which were held for each season. Whether one was part of the royal family, the scholarly class, or common folk, “everyone loved to cook and eat outdoors,” Chir said. They were big, sprawling affairs, with tables piled high with delicacies inspired by cultures across Asia and Europe.
Being at the end of the Silk Road, Chang'an was the place where merchants, craftsmen, and scholars sampled and adopted each other’s local cuisines.
This exchange of culinary culture is what made Chinese cuisine the world’s broadest and most diverse culinary system. Chinese cooking employs dozens of cooking techniques; many of them are so specific that the names have no equivalent in the English language. What we commonly know in the West is only a tiny part of Chinese cuisine, as most Chinese restaurants in North America serve Cantonese or Sichuan food.
Chinese regional cuisine can be classified into five major systems, each with its unique characteristics and history: Dongbei (Northwest), Huaiyang (between the Huai and Yellow rivers), Cantonese (in the South), Sichuan (in the Southeast), and Shandong (on the eastern peninsula).
Contestants will compete in one of the above regional cuisines. They will be required to cook one regulation dish and one of their own choosing in each of the competition rounds. Each round will be timed and preparation of the food will be strictly monitored and scored. A portion of each dish will be sent to the judge’s table for scoring. Ticket holders to the event will be able to sample the contestants’ creations, served by waiters and waitresses dressed in Tang-style uniforms.
Chir and her design partner Ken Chieh are responsible for the architectural and artistic design of the competition. With Chinese-style umbrellas, walkways, serving carts, and tableware, the team aims to create a mini setting that captures the open and inviting spirit of Chang'an.
“It’s a small start,” said Chir of this year’s competition. It’s the first time it is being held in an outdoor public space. “We hope that in the future we will be able to make it bigger and better.”
The cooking action will be broadcast on a big screen. Tickets for the competition (Sept. 30–Oct. 1) and the awards banquet at Pier 60 are available at http://culinary.ntdtv.com/en/events/. Contact email is [email protected], telephone: 1-646-736-2988.
Top Chinese chefs from the world over will whip up their special creations at cooking stations built to look like Tang Dynasty style carts. Ticket-holding audiences will experience a banquet reminiscent of those set in an ancient capital at the height of Chinese civilization.
Wei Jane Chir, art director for New Tang Dynasty TV’s 3rd Annual International Chinese Culinary Competition, describes the event as a cross-cultural promotion connecting one diverse city in history with another diverse city of today.
Ultimately, the event will be a touch of antiquity in a modern setting, a taste of a slower-moving era in the bustling heart of New York. “We want to bring Tang culture, color, and architecture to Times Square, to give [Times Square] some meaning, so it’s not just commercial.”
Chang‘an (now Xi’an) was the capital of China during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Hailed as the golden age of Chinese civilization, the Tang dynasty was a time of exchange in goods, ideas, and culture.
“Every morning, the emperor’s attendants would open the palace doors and welcome the ambassadors, scholars, and monks who came from all over the world,” Chir said. “It was a very open time, a time of sharing. There was no discrimination, no war—it was a time of confidence in China.”
It was also a time of banquets, which were held for each season. Whether one was part of the royal family, the scholarly class, or common folk, “everyone loved to cook and eat outdoors,” Chir said. They were big, sprawling affairs, with tables piled high with delicacies inspired by cultures across Asia and Europe.
Being at the end of the Silk Road, Chang'an was the place where merchants, craftsmen, and scholars sampled and adopted each other’s local cuisines.
This exchange of culinary culture is what made Chinese cuisine the world’s broadest and most diverse culinary system. Chinese cooking employs dozens of cooking techniques; many of them are so specific that the names have no equivalent in the English language. What we commonly know in the West is only a tiny part of Chinese cuisine, as most Chinese restaurants in North America serve Cantonese or Sichuan food.
Chinese regional cuisine can be classified into five major systems, each with its unique characteristics and history: Dongbei (Northwest), Huaiyang (between the Huai and Yellow rivers), Cantonese (in the South), Sichuan (in the Southeast), and Shandong (on the eastern peninsula).
Contestants will compete in one of the above regional cuisines. They will be required to cook one regulation dish and one of their own choosing in each of the competition rounds. Each round will be timed and preparation of the food will be strictly monitored and scored. A portion of each dish will be sent to the judge’s table for scoring. Ticket holders to the event will be able to sample the contestants’ creations, served by waiters and waitresses dressed in Tang-style uniforms.
Chir and her design partner Ken Chieh are responsible for the architectural and artistic design of the competition. With Chinese-style umbrellas, walkways, serving carts, and tableware, the team aims to create a mini setting that captures the open and inviting spirit of Chang'an.
“It’s a small start,” said Chir of this year’s competition. It’s the first time it is being held in an outdoor public space. “We hope that in the future we will be able to make it bigger and better.”
The cooking action will be broadcast on a big screen. Tickets for the competition (Sept. 30–Oct. 1) and the awards banquet at Pier 60 are available at http://culinary.ntdtv.com/en/events/. Contact email is [email protected], telephone: 1-646-736-2988.
