Street food from high school students: China opens first barbecue institute

China’s first barbecue research institute is set to open in Hunan province. It will train 1,000 barbecue experts over three years to meet the needs of the rapidly growing street food industry. The program includes cooking and business training, as well as a six-month internship.

This is reported by SCMP .

Yueyang Open University, located in central China’s Hunan Province, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the local Barbecue Association to establish the country’s first Yueyang Barbecue Research Institute.

According to the plans, the new institute will train 1,000 barbecue masters over three years. The training program will last two and a half years, including theoretical courses in cooking and business management, as well as a six-month internship in the street food industry.

The training program will be open to:

• high school graduates;
• youth who are not studying;
• current industry workers who want to improve their qualifications.

According to a representative of the Yueyang Barbecue Association, surnamed Qiao, the recruitment of participants will start next year, as the project is still in the planning stage. It was decided not to hold the recruitment this year.

It is worth adding that the barbecue industry has deep roots in Chinese culture. According to Grand View Research, in 2024, the revenue of the Chinese barbecue market reached 421.9 million US dollars, and is expected to grow to 606.5 million US dollars by 2030.

The city of Yueyang is one of the centers of this culture, with over 2,000 barbecue restaurants operating here, generating over 2 billion yuan (about 280 million US dollars) in annual output and providing approximately 50,000 jobs.

The announcement of the establishment of a barbecue institute has sparked heated discussion on social media in mainland China. Some users enthusiastically embraced the idea, calling it a “delicious step into the future.” Others expressed skepticism, noting that it is better to learn on the job — “from real street food masters” — than in a university setting.

One user even joked: “I’m ready to learn if everything I cook can be eaten for free.”

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.