[20190726 Press Release] Protecting children's school lunches, passing on the good flavors of hometown - 2019 Second Taiwan School Lunch Competition, entries open until July 31

After the Foodie Education Association held the first nationwide school lunch competition in 2018 and received enthusiastic responses from dietitians and chefs across the country, this year it once again invites school lunch professionals from 22 counties and cities to compete for the title of "Nation's Strongest School Lunch." The entry deadline is July 31, and the finals will be held on October 19 and 20. The champion team will receive a prize of 100,000 yuan and will travel to Tokyo to observe the 14th "Japan National School Lunch Koshien" competition. In addition, the school lunch culinary professionals who make it to the finals will have the opportunity to collaborate with FamilyMart to launch a commercialized meal box.

Huang Jialin, Secretary-General of the Foodie Education Association, stated that school lunch is a source of nutritional vitality for students during their time at school, and is also a key element in passing on local hometown flavors. All of this must be credited to the efforts and dedication of frontline school dietitians and chefs. The association upholds the principle of caring about national school lunch issues, and through the national competition highlights the importance of school lunch professionalism and challenges such as the large disparity in urban and rural resources, using civic power to help parents and the public better understand the core value of school lunch and food education, gradually accumulating positive power for change.

The theme of this year's competition is "Hometown Good Flavor: Here." Participants are expected to think during the menu design process: "What is our hometown flavor?" How to not only provide nutrition and deliciousness in the daily lunch supply, but also incorporate local ingredients and local culture, is the key to victory. Last year, participating dietitians presented Yilan braised pork, Lukang shrimp monkey sauce, Tainan milkfish, and Kaohsiung water caltrop and water lily stems, bringing hometown specialty ingredients onto the national competition stage and earning praise from the judges.

The Taiwan School Lunch Competition includes two events: "Food Education Teaching" and "Culinary Practice." On the first day of food education teaching, participants must explain the ingredient characteristics and food education philosophy of their competing dish within 5 minutes. On the second day of the culinary practice competition, each team must complete six servings of school lunch within 90 minutes, including washing, cutting, cooking, and cleaning the preparation counter. The competition guidelines and registration form can be found on the Foodie Education Association's official website: https://www.foodiedu.org/project/47

[Press Contacts]

• Zeng Ni (Project Manager, Foodie Education Association) 02-66365870 / [email protected]
• Huang Jialin (Secretary-General, Foodie Education Association) 0978-207831 / [email protected]

• Foodie Education Association Official Website: https://www.foodiedu.org
• Taiwan School Lunch Competition Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TAIWANSLC
• 2018 First Taiwan School Lunch Competition Results: https://www.foodiedu.org/project/12

Photo: New Taipei City Xiufeng Elementary School won the first Taiwan School Lunch Competition championship and received a prize of 100,000 yuan