Raising the steaks: China launches barbecue university programme, welcoming first cohort of students
As part of a three-year diploma programme, students will receive specialised training in areas like ingredient selection, charcoal control and flavour development, alongside business and restaurant management skills.
A photo of barbecue skewers from Yueyang City in central China's Hunan province. (Photo: Weibo/文旅岳阳)
YUEYANG, Hunan: Forget law schools and engineering degrees - a university in China is raising the steaks with a new college programme aimed at training the next generation of Chinese grill masters.
Yueyang Barbecue College, jointly established by Yueyang Open University and the Yueyang Barbecue Association, welcomed its first cohort of students on Monday (Mar 9), according to Chinese media reports.
Like crispy Peking duck in Beijing and fiery hotpot in Chongqing, the prefecture-level city in the central Hunan province has been carving out its own culinary identity - renowned for its local barbecue.
It is home to more than 2,000 barbecue restaurants, contributing more than 2 billion yuan (US$291 million) annually and supporting around 50,000 jobs, according to official statistics.
Local favourites include lamb skewers seasoned with spice combinations of chilli powder, perilla and mountain pepper - characterised by its numbing spicy taste.
Billed as China’s first university-level programme focused specifically on Yueyang’s barbecue industry, students will participate in both online courses and in-person classes which will cover areas like “ingredient selection, charcoal control and flavour development”, according to a report by China Daily, citing the academy.
The programme will also equip students with practical business skills like restaurant operations and costs, and management.
Upon graduation, participants will receive an academic diploma along with a vocational certificate recognised by human resources authorities.
Speaking to the Beijing News, Hu Jun, dean of Yueyang Barbecue College, said there had been high public interest. The school had received numerous phone calls from interested parties, both people already working in the industry and those planning to start their own barbecue businesses.
Meng Yinshuai, President of the Yueyang Barbecue Industry Association, said the city’s local barbecue culture has “long been undervalued”.
“We aim to expand its influence through sustained promotion and public outreach,” he told reporters back in August.
VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING INITIATIVE
More than 30 experienced barbecue chefs have been invited to serve as instructors in the university while industry experts will contribute specialised teaching materials to support training.
The university has also established partnerships with local barbecue restaurants in Yueyang, which will allow aspiring entrepreneurs to get valuable guidance and advice on starting up their own operations and even assistance on selecting sites.
Students enrolled under the “degree plus skills” programme will spend between two and a half to three years completing academic coursework, followed by one month of intensive skills training, according to China Daily.
A shorter one-month training programme, focusing on practical skills, is also being offered - participants will receive a vocational skills certificate after completing the course.
China is heavily accelerating vocational skills training for its industrial workforce - aiming to train over 10 million workers annually in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing and robotics.
At a conference held during this year’s Two Sessions meetings in Beijing this week, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping said lifelong vocational skills training systems will be established to cater to workers at different career stages.
The objective is to ensure that learning opportunities are accessible to everyone, anywhere, and at any time, Wang added.
