Quest for hotpot qualification heats up

"We're all very excited," said Chen Guohua, chairman of the Chongqing Hotpot Association. "This is a milestone in the history of the development of hotpot in China. This new occupational recognition could permit many ordinary restaurant workers to become skilled chefs."

As defined by the Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Chongqing Hotpot Association last year, "hotpot chef" refers to a person who makes the hotpot soup base, sauces and dips, prepares hotpot dishes, does dish matching and slicing and has a certain degree of catering and management ability.

Wang Wenjun, a 55-year-old local hotpot expert, said that Chinese cooks capable of making one of the country's eight major regional cuisines haven't won at any WorldSkills Competitions — the "Oscars" of vocational education and skills excellence — but hotpot chefs might.

He said about 25 years ago, he established Badaotang Chongqing Lupai Hotpot, a Chongqing hotpot franchise that has gradually gained a foothold in the local market, but working in such a big industry without a professional identity, hotpot chefs like him were not able to take part in national or international occupational skills competitions.

"We were in an awkward position," Wang said.

Cai Yong, an official from the municipal human resources and social security bureau, said with the latest designation of hotpot chefs, "it is our duty to create jobs — more specifically, good quality, decent jobs".

According to the bureau, there are nearly 10 million people working in the hotpot sector across the country, and at the end of last year, there were 30,000 hotpot restaurants in Chongqing, employing at least 800,000 people.

According to the China's Chain Catering Industry Report 2022 released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association and China Renaissance, hotpot is more likely to achieve scale and standardization compared to other catering categories due to its popularity. The trend for future development is obvious.

The report said that as of last year, there were about 41,600 hotpot brands nationwide. The sector was worth 529.5 billion yuan ($73.2 billion) in 2019 and is expected to reach 641.3 billion yuan by 2024.