On the afternoon of September 26th, a special online training on the etiquette for foreign affairs banquets with the theme of "Western-style Banquet Service" was held as scheduled at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Base for Life Skills in Wuhan Polytechnic. This training was invited by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Fiji and was hosted by the Pacific Branch of Wuhan Polytechnic and Jingchu Workshop. Chargé d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji, Counselor Wang Yuangong, Director of the Office Yan Peng and relevant personnel participated in the training activities.
This special online training was undertaken by the School of Tourism and Aviation Services. The school attached great importance to it and selected outstanding personnel. It selected Ju Xiaoqi, an excellent instructor for the National Vocational Skills Competition, Luo Min, a prize-winning contestant, and Zhang Hui, the executive chef of the F+ Forest-style French Restaurant at the Life Skills Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Base and a chef certified by Le Cordon Bleu, to form a training team. They also conducted repeated discussions and careful deliberations on the training methods, forms and contents.
Pre-meal preparation and the release of the achievements in the integration of industry and education.
Details are the key to the success or failure of banquet services. At the beginning of the training, Ju Xiaoqi, drawing on her rich teaching experience, explained the pre-banquet preparation work in Western-style banquet services, such as menu design, wine list design, table setting, tableware placement and banquet detail management. She emphasized that pre-banquet preparation is related to the smooth progress of the entire banquet and directly affects guests' first impressions.
Subsequently, Ju Xiaoqi released the latest innovative dish by Chef Zhang Hui, namely "Red Cherry · Flaming Bean Curd", to the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji who attended the event, demonstrating the positive progress made by the School of Tourism and Aviation Services in promoting the integration of industry, academia, research and innovation.
Ju Xiaoqi introduced that during the research and development process, Chef Zhang not only inherited the production techniques of traditional Chinese soy products but also drew on the refined practices of high-end French cuisine. As a result, this dish has not only retained the cultural charm of Chinese cuisine but also is full of the visual impact of French aesthetics.
In-meal Service and Immersive Training Innovation
In the training session of in-meal service, the School of Tourism and Aviation Services innovatively introduced immersive training. Students from Class 23307 of the Hotel Management major simulated the real service scenes of Western-style banquets on the spot.
Luo Min, the winner of the merit award in the Restaurant Service event of the National Vocational Skills Competition and the main character in the on-site simulated service, gave a professional banquet service demonstration. With her solid skills and precise operations in aspects such as detail handling, customer communication and service process management, she won unanimous praise from the overseas staff in Fiji.
Meanwhile, Ju Xiaoqi provided simultaneous commentary on the students' professional displays throughout the process, with a focus on interpreting the key skill points in banquet services. She particularly emphasized the importance of eye contact, body language and smiling of service staff during banquets. Combining practical operation cases, she explained to the embassy staff how to demonstrate professional competence and service awareness in the services.
This novel, unique and entertaining training method enables participants to acquire skills and knowledge and truly experience the charm and challenges of services. The staff of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji who participated in the training said that it deepened their understanding of Western-style banquet services and enabled them to feel the professional abilities and youthful elegance of the students from Wuhan Polytechnic.
In-depth Exchange and Outlook for Future Cooperation
As the training was coming to an end, Ju Xiaoqi had in-depth discussions with the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji on Western-style banquet service skills under different cultural backgrounds, the design of service processes for specific occasions and other aspects. She also shared a variety of service strategies for meeting the needs of different guests based on practical experience, which received a warm response from the overseas staff.
During the communication, the embassy staff highly affirmed the advanced teaching methods and the achievements of teaching reform in the field of Western food service teaching and practice by the School of Tourism and Aviation Services. They also expressed the hope that in the future, they could conduct face-to-face exchanges with the teaching team of the School of Tourism and Aviation Services in Fiji, promote in-depth cooperation between the two sides in the field of catering services, and create a new situation of win-win and common prosperity in the cultural and educational exchanges between China and Fiji.
This special training on Western-style banquet services is a successful attempt by Wuhan Polytechnic in deepening consensus, accelerating the "going global" of vocational education, and promoting international exchanges and cooperation after the establishment of its Pacific Branch and Jingchu Workshop. Through the combination of modern technology application and immersive teaching mode, the teachers and students of the School of Tourism and Aviation Services provided high-quality professional training for overseas staff, demonstrating the fruitful achievements of the school in the integration of industry, academia and research. In the future, the Pacific Branch and Jingchu Workshop of Wuhan Polytechnic will continue to base themselves on the needs of local economic and social development in Fiji, promote multi-level, multi-dimensional and diversified vocational education and training projects, and offer more Chinese wisdom and solutions.
