Gastronomy decade offers lessons for other cities, tourism chief says

As the city prepares to mark the milestone anniversary next year, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that Macau’s decade as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy offers lessons that could serve as a reference for other cities seeking similar recognition.

“We are working with UNESCO on a research project to examine the results since Macau’s designation and how it can further drive sustainable urban development, hoping to provide a reference for cities interested in applying or already designated,” she said on the sidelines of the official opening of the 2026 Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific culinary competition.

The office is also cooperating with UNESCO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UN World Tourism Organization on joint projects, including a young chefs program in which two Macau chefs participated and traveled to Rome in October to promote the city’s cuisine.

Senna Fernandes also noted that, building on the established “Macanese cuisine database,” the office is developing a “Macau Local Cantonese Cuisine Database” set to launch next year. It will feature 24 veteran Cantonese chefs, recommended by various sectors, each contributing three signature dishes and sharing their expertise.

“Although it is not recognized as an intangible cultural heritage, we feel these historical traces need to be preserved,” Senna Fernandes said, adding, “Each chef will contribute three dishes they consider relatively unique.”

Mak Mak licensing received 51 applications, 26 approved

On the “Mak Mak” mascot licensing scheme launched in April, she said 51 applications have been received and 26 approved (17 commercial and nine non-commercial), with products including fridge magnets and travel items already on sale.

“We hope products will become more diverse and the IP itself can become a distinctive souvenir people buy when they visit Macau,” she said.

Competition ends today

Regarding the culinary event taking place these days, she remarked that the Asia-Pacific qualifying round of the World Cooking Competition is being held in Macau for the first time.

In her address during the official opening, the director of MGTO remarked that since its inception in 1987, the Bocuse d’Or has been acclaimed as one of the world’s most challenging and spectacular cooking competitions.

“Hosting the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific represents another significant milestone in Macao’s journey as a Creative City of Gastronomy. It brings the city’s gastronomic culture onto the global stage. It reflects international recognition of Macau’s capabilities in hospitality, gastronomy, tourism and MICE, as well as its role as a world center of tourism and leisure.”

The Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026 pits eight teams from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam against each other.

Upholding the competition’s tradition, the organizing entity held a Jacket Presentation on Saturday.

The competition runs until today and over two consecutive days at the Venetian Macao. Teams from Vietnam (Lead chef Hiep Nguyen), India (Lead chef Avinnash Vishaal), China (Lead chef Chun Kei Wong), and Sri Lanka (Lead chef Nilupul Athauda) took the stage yesterday. In contrast, teams from New Zealand (Lead chef Kenji Yoshitsuka), Malaysia (Lead chef Muhammad Haikal Abdul Ghani), Japan (Lead chef Tetsuya Asano) and Thailand (Lead chef Chutima Srichai) will take the stage today.

Each team consists of a candidate (lead chef), a commis (assistant chef), a coach, a tasting jury member, and a promotion manager. Renato Marques & Yuki Lei