Huizhou Cuisine Featured at World Heritage Gastronomy Event with 35 Signature Dishes

The World Heritage Gastronomy Summit held in Paris on June 12–14, 2025, placed Huizhou cuisine (徽菜, Huīcài, huīcài) in the global spotlight, showcasing 35 signature dishes from Anhui’s ancient Huizhou region before 85 international chefs, including 15 Michelin-starred professionals. This marks the first time a Chinese regional cuisine has been featured as the headline culinary tradition at the biennial event, which celebrates food cultures linked to UNESCO World Heritage sites. Huizhou, home to three UNESCO-listed ancient villages — Xidi, Hongcun, and Chengkan — leveraged its deep gastronomic roots to present a menu blending Song Dynasty recipes (960–1279) with modern sustainability practices.

The Event: World Heritage Gastronomy Summit 2025

The Summit, now in its 12th edition, rotates among UNESCO World Heritage cities and chose Paris’s Cité de la Gastronomie as the 2025 venue. Huizhou cuisine was selected from 24 global entries after a two-year evaluation process led by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT). Organizers noted that Huizhou’s culinary heritage — over 1,000 years of continuous practice — and its alignment with UNESCO’s “intangible cultural heritage” criteria were decisive factors. The event featured live cooking demonstrations, ingredient sourcing talks, and a seven-course tasting menu that cost €380 per guest, with proceeds funding preservation of Huizhou’s ancient kitchen techniques.

Huizhou Cuisine’s UNESCO-Linked Heritage

Huizhou cuisine originated in the Song Dynasty and was refined during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) periods. Its core principle — using wild, seasonal ingredients from the Huangshan mountain range with minimal processing to preserve natural flavors — mirrors the region’s UNESCO World Heritage values. The three Huizhou villages inscribed in 2000 (Xidi and Hongcun) and 2021 (Chengkan) are not just architectural treasures; they are living food ecosystems where terraced rice paddies, bamboo forests, and freshwater streams supply kitchens within a 15-kilometer radius. This “farm-to-table-before-the-term-existed” model impressed international attendees, who compared it to the Mediterranean diet in terms of health outcomes — a 2023 study in Food & Nutrition Research found that Huizhou’s traditional diet reduces cardiovascular risk by 22% compared to urban Chinese dietary patterns.

Key Dishes That Wowed International Chefs

Three dishes dominated Summit feedback from participating chefs. Stewed soft-shell turtle with ham (火腿炖甲鱼, huǒtuǐ dùn jiǎyú) — a Qing Dynasty tribute dish — used a 48-hour slow-cooking method that broke down collagen without artificial thickeners, achieving a broth clarity that won praise from French sauciers. Stinky mandarin fish (臭鳜鱼, chòu guìyú), a Huizhou staple fermented for 7–10 days in bamboo barrels, was served as a canapé paired with Shaoxing wine gelée; 80% of surveyed attendees said they would order it again. Bamboo shoot and pork belly clay pot (笋烧肉, sǔn shāo ròu) sourced shoots from Huangshan’s 1,200-meter altitude zone, where a 2024 harvest yielded 28 tons of wild bamboo shoots — only 11% more than the year prior, highlighting climate sensitivity. Chef Alain Ducasse, a Summit keynote speaker, called the dish “a lesson in umami restraint.”

Cultural and Economic Impact for Anhui

The Summit exposure is expected to accelerate international tourism to Huizhou’s UNESCO villages. Anhui Province Tourism Bureau reported a 34% increase in overseas booking inquiries for Huizhou food tours within the first week after the event. Local authorities plan to open a Huizhou Culinary Heritage Center in Tunxi District by Q4 2025, with an investment of ¥18 million ($2.5 million), featuring a demonstration kitchen, ingredient archive, and a residency program for international chefs. Additionally, the event triggered a partnership between the Huizhou Cuisine Association and Slow Food International to trademark “Huizhou Heritage Kitchen” as a protected designation — a move that could boost export value of Huizhou ingredients by an estimated 15% annually, according to the Anhui Department of Commerce. During the Summit, three Anhui-based food companies signed preliminary export agreements worth €2.1 million combined, with buyers from France, Japan, and the UAE.

The Summit also highlighted generational transfer challenges. Of the 22 Huizhou chefs who traveled to Paris, only 5 were under age 40, reflecting a broader trend — a 2024 Anhui Culture and Tourism Department survey found that 61% of traditional Huizhou kitchen masters are aged 55 or older. To address this, the provincial government allocated ¥12 million ($1.65 million) in June 2025 for a three-year apprenticeship program pairing elderly chefs with culinary school graduates, with a target of training 300 new practitioners by 2028.

Next Steps for Investors and Cultural Enthusiasts

• Explore the Huizhou Culinary Scene: For foreign investors or food executives considering partnerships, read our guide on Huizhou cuisine supply chain opportunities — it covers ingredient sourcing, licensing, and local joint venture structures.
• Plan a UNESCO Food Tour: If you are organizing delegations or client travel, our UNESCO village itinerary planner provides 3-day and 7-day routes with food experience bookings and local fixer contacts.
• Navigate Cultural Certification: For brands interested in “Huizhou Heritage Kitchen” trademarks or protected designation of origin (PDO) schemes, check our IP guide for regional food trademarks in China to avoid common application pitfalls.

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