National Culinary Competition serves up winners

Some of the creations from contestants at the National Culinary Competition

The last exotic dish has been served in China's National Culinary Competition and judges have sliced the competitors into two distinct groups. The older, veteran chefs who have mastered traditional cooking techniques and the young up-and-comers, who have infused their creations with creativity.

Over the past year, 5,000 chefs have battled it out in competitions around China. Those left standing, stood proud to accept their just deserts last Friday.

During the competition each chef had prepared a traditional dish and an original dish at the same setting. The chefs were tested on their mastery of culinary techniques, such as their skills with a knife, their work with a wok and their dish's pretty presentation.

Naturally the judges were the chefs' most fearsome critics. According to the leader of the judges, 30 percent of contestants possess excellent basic skills, while the remainder have only mediocre or substandard cooking skills. The judges say veteran chefs have the technical skills while the young ones have the imagination. Experts says the masters need to do more mentoring of the newcomers.

The competition banned food stuffs such as costly sea cucumber and inappropriate shark's fin. Some renowned food writers and critics on the judging panel handed out 200 gold prizes in a number of categories.