Six student teams go head-to-head to sell tourist magnet's unique Cantonese-Portuguese fusion cuisine

High drama in the mold of the hit TV show The Apprentice will be on display when six groups of young students from the Pearl River Delta region go head-to-head in a bid to promote Macao's exotic gourmet fare.

Macao academic group the Asia-Pacific Communication Exchange Association (APCEA) will host Macao's APCEA Business Presentation Contest (ABPC) on Sunday.

Following preliminary contests in Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macao, six Grand Finalist teams were chosen from 18 entrants - two from Zhuhai and four from Macao.

A four-strong team makes its pitch at the Zhuhai Division finals of the Seventh Asia-Pacific Communication Exchange Association Business Presentation Contest. Photos Provided to China Daily

A group photo of all the judges, guests and contestants of the Seventh Asia-Pacific Communication Exchange Association (APCEA) Business Presentation Contest's Zhuhai Division.

This year's contest is the seventh since its establishment in 2010. The ABPC has seen hundreds of aspirants, all full-time students, demonstrate their business talents in various areas over the past seven years.

China Daily Hong Kong Edition and Zhuhai TV Station jointly support the competition this year.

The challenge for the six young business teams this time is to form a well-rounded business proposal to promote Macao's mixed flavors from Cantonese cuisine and Portuguese gourmet fare - including the well-known Portuguese egg tart, the egg roll and the pork chop bun.

Last year, contestants had less than 10 minutes to make a presentation on how to promote Macao's tourism industry. They also had to produce a one- to two-minute film trailer. Presentations included such topics as business strategies, market analysis, management innovation and business models.

The English-language business contest had become a famous brand in Macao, according to Nancy Kong, deputy executive director of APCEA, with a growing influence in the Southeast Asian region over the years.

"I'm very pleased to see our ABPC has drawn so much attention among university students in Zhuhai. It even attracted a team from Guangzhou this year," Kong added.

Each team had two to five members. The top three would win 5,000 patacas ($625), 3,000 patacas and 2,000 patacas, respectively.

Kong also said students from the Grand Finalist teams may be offered internship opportunities at major corporations in Macao.

This year's competition, "A bite of Macao", is in sync with the Macao government's recent move to have the tourist mecca listed as "a city of gastronomy" in the United Nations' Creative Cities Network, under the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

According to UNESCO's website, two mainland cities are among the 18 "cities of gastronomy" worldwide. They are Chengdu in Sichuan - cradle of the province's spicy cuisine - and Shunde in Guangdong, with its distinguished Cantonese cuisine.

APCEA, comprising several academics in the Asia-Pacific region, aims to offer a portal to promote academic exchange and collaboration in the areas of communication, education, English language and business.

nora@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 03/16/2017 page21)