On September 8, 2025, the launch ceremony of the first Asian Wedding Skills Competition was grandly opened at Yunfang Theater. This competition was officially certified by the World Federation of Chefs (WACS), bringing together 133 participating teams and about 500 practitioners from Asia and countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" to compete on the same stage. With the theme of "Studying wedding banquet cooking skills and creating gold medal services together", it has built a global catering culture exchange platform to promote the in-depth integration of Asian wedding banquet culture with the global catering system.
The launch ceremony was held, including domestic industry leaders such as Yang Liu, President of the China Culinary Association, Hao Yishan, Deputy Director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Commerce, Zhang Haichun, Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Finance and Trade Unions, Gao Geng, Director of the Kunming Civil Affairs Bureau, MUHAMAD AKMAL BIN ABDUL WAHAB, Consul General of the Malaysian Consulate General in Kunming, Shen Jingxie, Vice Chairman of the Asian Economic Commission of Korea, Maria Zisouli, Secretary-General of the Attica Chef Club in Greece, and other international representatives, as well as heads of wedding catering industry associations in various provinces and cities across the country, and representatives of 133 participating teams attended the event. CCTV Video, Yunnan Daily, Toutiao and other media recorded this industry event throughout the process.
At the beginning of the ceremony, all participants stood up and sang the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, and the solemn melody kicked off the event. Subsequently, Hao Yishan, deputy director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Commerce, and Yang Liu, president of the China Culinary Association, delivered speeches, explaining the importance of this competition to improve the skills and cultural exchanges of wedding banquets in Asia from the perspectives of local industry support and industry development planning. Referee representative Dong Chaoyu, domestic contestants representative Li Jingcheng, and Greek contestants representative Maria also spoke one after another, expressing their expectations for fairness and justice in the competition and their enthusiasm for active participation.
At the critical stage of the launching ceremony, Yang Liu, President of the China Culinary Association, personally presented the plaque of the special committee to Ms. Jiang Yabi, the newly elected Chairman of the China Culinary Association’s Wedding Banquet Professional Committee. The atmosphere at the scene was solemn and warm, with the soft lights focusing on the presentation table, and the guests cast their congratulations, and the sound of shutters came one after another.
President Yang Liu emphasized at the presentation: "The Wedding Banquet Professional Committee bears the important task of promoting the development of China's wedding banquet culture, standardizing industry standards, and promoting international exchanges. It is hoped that under the leadership of Chairman Jiang Yabi, the special committee can gather the strength of the industry, innovate, and contribute outstanding wisdom and strength to the progress of the wedding banquet industry in China and even Asia." Chairman Jiang Yabi took the plaque with both hands and bowed deeply to express her gratitude to everyone present. She promised to do her best and lead the members of the special committee to actively carry out their work, make efforts in skills training, standard setting, cultural communication, etc., to effectively improve the professional level and service quality of the wedding banquet industry, and help the industry achieve high-quality and vigorous development. This awarding session not only marks the official start of the work of the China Culinary Association’s wedding banquet professional committee, but also gives it a profound industry mission to the first Asian Wedding Skills Competition, laying a solid industry foundation for the successful holding of the event.
After the plaque awarding ceremony, the competition starts immediately. Yang Liu, President of the China Culinary Association, Hao Yishan, Deputy Director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Commerce, Zhang Haichun, Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Finance and Trade Unions, Tong Lin, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Culinary Association, Hua Zefei, former Deputy Director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Secretary of the Yunnan Private Entrepreneurs Association, Jiang Yabi, Chairman of the Wedding Banquet Professional Committee of the China Culinary Association, and Cao Zhonghua, Executive Chairman, as well as MUHAMAD AKMAL BIN ABDUL WAHAB, Consul General of the Malaysian Consulate General in Kunming, Shen Jingxie, Vice Chairman of the Korea Asian Economic Commission, Maria Zisouli, Secretary-General of the Attica Chef Club, Suzuki Naoki, President of the Japanese Wedding Culture Revitalization Association, and other leaders and guests walked onto the stage together, pressing their hands gently on the big screen to activate their palms, "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Start!" As the audience counted down in unison, the Asian map on the big screen was gradually lit up by golden light, symbolizing the light spots of 133 participating teams shining brightly on the map, and the first Asian Wedding Skills Competition was officially launched.
Immediately afterwards, President Yang Liu held a microphone and announced loudly that the "first Asian Wedding Skills Competition will open!" The streamers were flying on the scene, and the applause was thundering, and cheers and applause were intertwined, pushing the atmosphere of the ceremony to its climax.
It is understood that this competition will last until September 11. During this period, the participating teams will compete in multiple dimensions such as wedding banquet dishes innovation, banquet service process, theme scene design, etc., showing the top skills and diverse cultural characteristics of the Asian wedding banquet industry. China Merchants Bank, Yunnan Textile Group, Fenjiu Group, Heqingyi Wine Industry, Wuhan Liangzhilong Food Co., Ltd. and other companies will also provide support for the event to help industry resource integration and exchanges and cooperation.
The launch ceremony ended successfully. The leaders, guests and contestants left the venue in an orderly manner under the guidance of the staff and went to the Central Plaza to take a photo. At this moment, Yunnan Xizunlong Wedding Hotel is not only the starting point of the event, but also an important platform for the Asian wedding banquet industry to build consensus and promote development together. We look forward to the competition in the next few days, all participating teams will shine and achieve great results, and jointly promote the Asian wedding banquet culture to a broader stage.
