Belize-Taiwan Culinary Affair Brings Flavors and Cultures Together

Today, the Taiwanese Embassy, in partnership with ITVET, held the International Tours of Taiwan Gourmet Cuisine program.  This culinary affair brought together chefs, trainees, members of the Taiwanese community, and ITVET faculty to share flavors, skills, and culture. Guests enjoyed a unique culinary exhibition where Belizean and Taiwanese chefs prepared dishes side by side, showcasing the rich artistry of both cuisines. Here’s News Five’s, Zenida Lanza with the story.

 

Zenida Lanza, Reporting

Food has a way of bringing people together, crossing borders and blending traditions. Today, ITVET chef instructors and trainees, alongside chefs from Taiwan, joined forces for the International Tours of Taiwan Gourmet Cuisine. The event was not a competition, but a collaborative learning experience. Dishes highlighted local and symbolic ingredients like shrimp and lamb, reflecting Belize’s agricultural and trade connections with Taiwan. Taiwanese Chef Peter Pan, with thirty years of experience, shared the differences that he observed between both cuisines.

 

Peter Pan, Taiwanese Chef

“After tasting, I noticed that even though in the country of Belize, there is actually a combination of a lot of ethnic groups. The food is like, he actually noticed there is food from different countries that you see here. And the main difference that he noticed is that we use a lot of spices and for example all spice, the dry basil and stuff like Italian spices and this is a little different than Taiwan, because in Taiwan we try to use like the original flavor from the food and what he says is like locally we like the spice of the food.”

 

As Taiwan recently opened for shrimp imports from Belize, peppered shrimp was the first to be introduced, alongside black peppered lamb, and sweet potato balls. Belizean chefs, meanwhile, presented ethnic cuisines from Creole, Mayan, Garifuna, Mestizo, and East Indian traditions. Chef Minor, from ITVET noted that showcasing this diversity made the event even more meaningful.

 

Chef Minor, ITVET Belize

“It was a great event. A good opportunity also for having everybody here, also for my other ITVET colleagues from all around Belize. And the exchange was great. We could continue doing this kind of exchange all the time, with different kind of culture that comes to Belize, and we could present actually what we offer. That would be a very, very good asset for our tourism and also for our own people.”

 

Ambassador Lily (Li-Wen) Hsu emphasized the importance of sharing culinary skills, exchanging ideas, and learning from each other.

 

Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Taiwanese Ambassador

“Food is very important to connect. You always share a good meal with your friends and loved ones. Today, I’m very happy that we have this opportunity to share a taste of Taiwan with our many dear friends as we learn from each other.”

 

From Belizean traditions to Taiwanese specialties, the event showed that every shared meal is also a sharing of culture.  Reporting for News Five, I’m Zenida Lanza.