On October 12, 19 contestants from 15 countries showed off their cooking skills with Chinese ingredients and Chinese cooking recipes in the exotic garden of the First World Hotel of Hangzhou Leisure Expo Garden.

Taro Iwakoshi from Japan is the youngest of all the contestants. He would make Qianjiang shredded pork, a dish demanding fine shredding techniques. He was seen to pick up a piece of lean pork and with the rhythmic cutting sound, soon the shredded lean pork with equal thickness was laid out on the chopping board. Then he stirred ingredients, heated up a wok with some oil, thickened the sauce with starch and stir-fried the shredded pork. And the dish was done. Judges thumbed up with compliments for the dish: attractive color and delicate shredding techniques.

In the interview, many contestants told the reporters that they were fond of Hangzhou cuisine, especially Hangzhou culture. An international student from Germany, Gaston, who is keen on traveling and has been to different parts of the world, when asked about the best place he has been to, responded: ¡°Definitely, Hangzhou and I am crazy about Hangzhou cuisine¡±.

Finally Japanese contestant Yuko Abe got the first place in the competition and the second prize went to Korean contestant Kyoung Ja Hong and German contestant Gaston.