Chinese firm organizes cooking competition in Nigeria

Francis Ishaya, a 32-year-old Nigerian, attracted judges and guests with his culinary skills to emerge as a winner of a Chinese cooking competition in Abuja Friday.

The competition was organized by the multinational construction firm -- China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

CCECC said it organized the maiden edition of the annual cooking competition in which various kinds of Chinese dishes were prepared, to offer local workers an opportunity to learn and develop their talents in the area.

Noting local employees had made a great contribution to the company's rapid development in Africa's most populous country, Li Jianhui, managing director of CCECC Nigeria Ltd, said the Chinese construction firm had been providing a good platform for local workers who have the capacity and willingness to prove their abilities in various areas.

"For CCECC, the Year of the Rooster is a year of team building. We are expanding our horizon and giving local workers the opportunity to grow with us," Li said at the well-attended event.

Ishaya, a chef who has been working for CCECC at its Nigeria headquarter in Abuja for a decade now, obtained high marks for a jury of journalists and professional chefs.

Ishaya told Xinhua that the competition had boosted his confidence in cooking, especially, Chinese cuisine, adding he learned a lot from his Chinese teacher, which made him also emerge as a winner of the competition.

He was presented with a cash prize, trophy and a competition certificate.

Among the contestants, eight of them were selected from different area offices of CCECC across Nigeria. Endit