(Beijing Winter Olympics) Beijing Winter Olympics on the tip of the tongue: Telling Chinese stories with food
China News Service, Beijing, January 20th: Beijing Winter Olympics on the tip of the tongue: Telling Chinese stories with food
Chinanews.com reporter Wang Zumin
As the saying goes: People take food as their heaven.
"Eating" is a "big event" for everyone at any time, anywhere, and it will naturally occupy an extremely important position in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.
Recently, a reporter from Chinanews.com interviewed Liu Jia, the catering manager of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube). Through the catering service of the "Ice Cube" in the Winter Olympics venue, we can see the leopard and reveal the secrets of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the tip of the tongue.
Some of the food in Ice Cube.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
The multi-ring guarantee under the Five Rings: Let Chinese and foreign guests eat worry-free during the "epidemic"
The catering service in the venue during the competition will cover different groups such as VIPs and escorts of the Olympic family, international technical officials, members of the International Winter Sports Federation, registered media, staff, spectators and sponsoring companies.
"These customers have a large number, a large scale, and a wide range of flows, and food safety has become the most fundamental guarantee. Therefore, it is our top priority to make Chinese and foreign guests 'safe food'." Liu Jia said.
However, the supply chain of catering for the Winter Olympics is long, and it is not easy to ensure "safe food" under the epidemic.
Epidemic prevention personnel conduct disinfection in the staff restaurant.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
Liu Jia said that the catering service in the venue is only the last link of the venue's catering service guarantee.
To investigate its source, it must start from the selection of the planting and breeding bases of the ingredients, then to the cutting and processing and the production of dishes, and finally to the competition venue.
In order to achieve food supply safety for the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, the central government has established a food supply safety work coordination group, and Beijing and Hebei have set up a catering service preparatory working group to formulate the venue catering service operation model, with food safety as the red line. Comprehensive and systematic protection.
"The whole process of Winter Olympics food, from ingredients to production to entering the venue, has strict procedures and is supervised throughout." Liu Jia told a reporter from Chinanews.com.
Ice Cube's catering team (the one with the light-colored shirt in the middle is the catering manager Liu Jia).
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
Not to mention the strict screening and control of the planting and breeding bases that provide ingredients for the Winter Olympics catering. The reporter learned that the Winter Olympics food will go through five closed loops when it arrives at the venue from the processing base—
The first ring is the processing base.
The base itself is under strict closed-loop management, and the Winter Olympics food will be subject to full supervision here and processed into semi-finished or finished products as required.
The second loop is the mobile closed loop, where the food is loaded into special vehicles with strict prevention and control measures; the third loop is to enter the periphery of the venue, which is also within the closed loop of the Winter Olympics, where security personnel stationed at the venue will pick up the meals.
The fourth ring is entering the venue, where some staff's meals will be distributed and eaten, and the other part will enter the fifth ring, which is the core competition guarantee area, through contactless distribution in the handover area.
Liu Jia said that the security of food for the Winter Olympics goes far beyond these five rings.
Taking the entry into the venue as an example, Ice Cube's catering service is divided into 12 points of "inside seven and outside five". Each point forms a corresponding "closed loop" that operates independently, formulates a targeted prevention and control plan, and strictly guards against it in the buffer area to ensure that the transmission channel of the epidemic is completely cut off.
In addition, the use of equipment such as banquet incubators, insulated kitchen cabinets, and induction Buffet stoves for food distribution will reduce direct contact and improve the safety of "Worry-Free Food".
Ice cube dining area service staff.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
Dishes and services are ingenious: your needs are my goals
Food safety is only the most basic guarantee for the catering of the Winter Olympics. It is the further pursuit of the catering teams of various venues to ensure that Chinese and foreign guests can eat well while they are "fatigue-free".
According to Liu Jia, during the Winter Olympics, the menus of each venue will be circulated every 8 days. The menu structure and dish taste are based on the reference of the menus of previous Olympic Games, and the opinions of relevant parties are solicited. Brainstorming.
During the test match, foreign guests ate in the Ice Cube dining area.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
The menu of each venue is a combination of Chinese and Western, which not only takes care of the eating habits of Chinese and foreign guests, but also allows them to experience and taste the original exotic (off-site) delicacies.
In order to meet the special needs of some guests, the catering team also provides one-to-one "special service" services. At the same time, on the buffet table, the detailed information of each dish, including the main ingredients and allergens, will be marked for the convenience of guests. .
What is even more amazing is that the catering team also thought about the different dietary needs of the guests at different stages of the Winter Olympics.
One of the dining areas in the Ice Cube venue.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
Liu Jia said that in the early stage of the event, the "Winter Olympics" who have just gone through intense preparations will be very tired, and they will be relatively excited when the event starts. After the stabilization, everyone's pressure has been released, and they may also feel that the food in the early stage is a little tired. At this time, they will provide some light meals.
"At the end stage, the appetite may decrease after a long period of 'retreat'. At this time, some appetite-stimulating foods, such as hot and sour foods, may be needed to adjust." Liu Jia said with a smile.
From her understated words, the reporter felt the good intentions of the Winter Olympics team to provide good catering services.
The reporter also learned that in order to maintain the temperature of the hot food in the venue, the market supervision department also strictly monitors the temperature of the food entering the venue to ensure that the temperature of the center of the hot food is not lower than 70°C and the surface temperature is not lower than 60°C when the buffet is opened.
Supervisors test the temperature of dishes in the venue.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
After the opening of the Winter Olympics, the catering team will also dynamically seek the opinions of the diners, and make adjustments according to everyone's voices and needs.
"The service industry should aim at the needs of customers. We require the Winter Olympics catering, whether it is the 'hardware' of the dishes or the 'software' of the service, to reflect the 'ingenuity'." Liu Jia said.
She said that in two test competitions last year, they also analyzed the taste preferences of diners by studying the consumption of various dishes each day.
During the test competition, foreign guests who dined in the rest area of the venue praised the catering service of Ice Cube.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
When the Winter Olympics meet the Spring Festival: Telling Chinese Stories with Food
The opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4) is the fourth day of the Chinese New Year.
The curling competition hosted by Ice Cube will be the first to start on February 2, the second day of the Lunar New Year.
How to impress all customers, especially foreign guests, on the Chinese New Year during the Winter Olympics has become an important issue for the catering team to plan at the beginning of preparations.
In order to bring surprises to the guests at that time, some specific ideas and recipes for the Winter Olympics Spring Festival catering need to be kept secret for the time being.
However, some details revealed by Liu Jia have already made people feel the strong taste of the New Year: for example, in the environmental layout of the dining area of the venue, some elements full of New Year's flavor will be used to highlight the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival; for example, on the menu, there will be Some common delicacies on the Chinese New Year table, as well as traditional foods such as dumplings, glutinous rice balls, candy ears, roujiamo...
At the same time, they will also work hard on the appearance of the dishes, and convey auspicious and festive meanings through platter and placement.
To this end, the Games Service Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee has also specially organized chef training.
The Chinese Spring Festival is about reunion and reunion, but under the epidemic, formal reunion may be difficult to achieve.
"We strive to make up for this regret with more thoughtful and warm-hearted services, pass on blessings, and let the guests feel a reunion and festive atmosphere." Liu Jia said with a smile, "Although it is impossible to hold hands, it does not hinder heart-to-heart."
Celebrate birthdays for foreign guests inside the Ice Cube during the test match.
Photo courtesy of the catering team of the National Aquatics Center (Ice Cube)
Rooted in the fertile soil of civilization for 5,000 years, Chinese food culture has a long history.
Telling Chinese stories with food and conveying food culture with food is also one of the "important tasks" shouldered by the Beijing Winter Olympics catering team.
Liu Jia said that China's food culture is extensive and profound, and the catering for the Winter Olympics can only be a drop in the ocean.
For example, you can try to let foreign guests experience the use of chopsticks, or you can design small cultural cards at some dining spots in the venue to introduce some allusions and production methods of some famous Chinese dishes, as well as which dishes belong to which cuisine and what are their characteristics.
Some dishes have special ingredients, and you can also introduce their origin and local customs and so on.
In addition, tableware itself is also an important symbol of food culture, and the placement, shape and color of dishes all convey the aesthetic principles of Chinese food.
……
Let the guests go from "eating without worry" to eating well, from experiencing the excellence of the dishes to feeling the sincere enthusiasm of the Chinese people; from conveying the Chinese Spring Festival culture and food culture through food, to showing the Chinese catering industry with accurate, professional and warm services Image, this is the ultimate goal of all catering staff in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and it is also the complete Chinese story that the Beijing Winter Olympics will present on the tip of the tongue.
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