A chef roasting a duck over a charcoal fire at Quanjude, a renowned Peking duck restaurant in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Chen Juntao wipes the sweat off his brow using the grubby sleeve of his chef's coat. As the man responsible for preparing Peking duck at Cuixianglou, a humble little restaurant in Chaoyang district, Chen toils relentlessly each day to preserve the cherished culinary tradition of a dish that was once served to emperors.

The first Peking duck recipe appeared in a manual written in 1330 by Hu Sihui, an inspector in the imperial kitchens. It was a dish that was literally deemed fit for a king.

"There aren't many people these days who are interested in learning how to prepare Peking duck, because the wages are poor, and it's a very hard work," said Chen.

Besides the long hours and suffocating conditions endured by most cooks, to be a Peking duck chef demands assiduous devotion to the meticulous process required to achieve the dish's venerated crispy thin skin and moist, tender meat. 

"Most Peking duck places hire relatives [of the owner or the chef], because no one else is willing to do it," said Chen. 

To safeguard against such culinary traditions disappearing entirely, the China Cuisine Association is currently preparing a submission to have Chinese cuisine recognized on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

A spread of different hotpot ingredients, including tripe and sliced meats. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Kitchen-hands preparing jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) in the kitchens of Orient King of Dumplings, a popular dumpling franchise in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Hotpot, which involves cooking fresh ingredients in a simmering broth while diners eat, has a history of more than 1,000 years in China. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Preserving the past and the present

In the same way that UNESCO World Heritage Sites aim to protect places of cultural and national significance from threats that might otherwise imperil their existence, the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list looks to preserve living expressions of culture against the forces of globalization.

These living traditions include social rituals, traditional festivals, and skills and knowledge related to a culturally distinct worldview or way of living,  according to the UNESCO website.

China already has a number of items inscribed on UNESCO's cultural heritage list, from shadow-puppetry to Beijing Opera to seal engraving, but the China Cuisine Association are hoping that China can join the small handful of countries whose cuisines have been recognized by the organization.

Among the lucky few that have had their cuisines inscribed on the list since the initiative began in late 2003 are the gastronomical meals of France, the local food of Mexico, the gingerbread craft of Northern Croatia, and most recently, the traditional cuisine of Japan, known as washoku.

In each instance that a national cuisine has been accepted onto the list, UNESCO has emphasized the importance of the cuisine to the everyday lives of the people who cook and eat it. The UNESCO website describes the reasons for Mexican cuisine's inscription thus:

"Traditional Mexican cuisine is a comprehensive cultural model comprising farming, ritual practices, age-old skills, culinary techniques and ancestral community customs and manners. It is made possible by collective participation in the entire traditional food chain: from planting and harvesting to cooking and eating."

A waiter serves jiaozi. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Second time's the charm

This year's submission by the China Cuisine Association will be the second time efforts have been made to have Chinese cuisine recognized on UNESCO's cultural heritage list.

The first attempt the China Cuisine Association made to gain the approval of the United Nations was three years ago. It fell short at the first hurdle, with China's Ministry of Culture rejecting the association's request to even launch a bid with UNESCO. 

"The traditional Chinese culinary arts are rather complicated," said Feng Enyuan, the vice-director of the Chinese Cuisine Association.

Feng explained that on the previous occasion, they had struggled with how to present Chinese cuisine, which varies widely from region to region, as a coherent whole.

"We will try to make our application more concrete and more interesting this time," Feng said.

"We want to share with the world the story of Chinese food."

According to the China News Agency, the Chinese Cuisine Association recently organized a meeting of respected culinary professionals, with representatives of each of China's eight major regional cuisines (Jiangsu, Fujian, Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang and Anhui) present, to discuss the best approach to making a submission.

Among the issues discussed was whether to put forward a single dish with a long culinary tradition, such as Peking duck or jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), or to try to present Chinese cuisine as a custom that encompasses the entire country, transcending regional boundaries.

The first approach would raise the question as to which dish best represents Chinese cuisine.

"I think dumplings are the most deserving," said Chen, despite being a Peking duck chef.

"Peking duck and Sichuan hotpot are great, and they each have a long history. But they are regional dishes," Chen explained.

"Dumplings, on the other hand, are eaten by people everywhere in China, so it can represent the whole country."

Tangible benefits

Although the stated aim of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage initiative is to preserve local ways of living against globalization, the reality is that those in the food and tourism industries have much to gain from the endorsement, precisely because we now live in a globalized marketplace.

When Japanese cuisine was designated the much sought-after status of intangible cultural heritage last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quick to point out the economic benefits, according to a report from the Japan Times.

The report emphasized the boost that UNESCO's endorsement would bring to the tourism and export industries of Japan, while a report that appeared in the Telegraph said that in the wake of the recognition, Abe announced intentions to double Japan's food exports by 2020. 

But Feng dismissed suggestions that the application being prepared by the China Cuisine Association was motivated by economic incentives.

"The economic benefits of intangible cultural heritage status would not be as obvious in the culinary industry as it is in the tourism industry," said Feng. "Even if our application is successful, we will receive very little direct funding from UNESCO. We are just doing this to preserve and continue the proud tradition of Chinese cuisine."

Despite Feng's remarks, it stands to reason that there could be considerable economic gain if Chinese cuisine were conferred intangible cultural heritage status.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the benefits to Pingyao, an ancient township in Shanxi Province that was accorded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1997, were immense.

Xinhua reported that in 1996, a year before UNESCO's endorsement, revenue for entry into the township was just 820,000 yuan ($133,118). But by 2004, this number had multiplied by a remarkable 58 times, with revenue earned from ticket sales for entering the town reaching nearly 48 million yuan.

Chinatowns around the world

While official recognition for Chinese cuisine as an intangible cultural heritage might expedite rather than stem the tide of globalization, one of the possible benefits is that such a status could help ensure that Chinese cuisine being served in the rest of the world is authentic, and true to the culinary traditions it claims to represent.

Despite the proliferation of Chinese restaurants around the world, most of them are not serving authentic Chinese cuisine, said Neal Jones, an American television news anchor currently living in China.

"The Chinese food being served in the US in most restaurants is completely different than in China," said Jones.

"One time, I ordered sweet and sour pork in a Chinese restaurant in New York, and they brought me a plate of pork with barbecue sauce. After I had [sweet and sour pork] in China, I realized that the dish never comes with barbecue sauce."

Bian Jiang, the secretary-general of the China Cuisine Association, believed that overturning the misunderstandings that prevail about Chinese food overseas was one of the best reasons for seeking intangible cultural heritage status.

"Food always adjusts a little to cater local tastes," said Bian.

"I don't have a big problem with this, but by gaining intangible cultural heritage status, I think people around the world can know and understand the traditions and origins of our food culture a little better."

"We eat everyday, but very few people stop to think about the history behind what they're eating, that it has been inherited from generation to generation for thousands of years," Bian added.

"Through submitting [to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List], we can acknowledge and understand our own food culture better."

Reality bites

Before speaking to Metropolitan, Chen had no idea that moves were being made to submit an application for Chinese cuisine to be recognized on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

But even after he was told about the efforts being made, Chen was unmoved.

"I don't think it's going to affect our lives much. We have a set salary, and no matter how busy it gets, we're paid around 4,000 yuan a month. On that kind of money, I don't think many people will want to learn how to roast ducks," said Chen.