School of wok: training the next generation of Cantonese chefs

Flames leap from the stove as the fire intensifies. Armed with a metal ladle and large wok, trainee chef Dennis Chan Chung-shing moves gracefully around his station, trying to beat the clock.

The garlic sizzles in the oil, then the peppers and snow peas are added to the mix. Chan is attempting to make a traditional Cantonese dish of stir-fried scallops.

Master chef and instructor Lee Siu-kong barks a command and Chan adds the scallops to the wok with a flourish.

'In stir-fried food, timing and control are key,' says Chan, a second-year student at the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute. 'It's exciting, I have to be quick but precise. The course combines theory and actual work experience,' the 22-year-old says.

Last year, Hong Kong boasted more than 8,000 restaurants; up from about 6,800 in 2000. The city is a mecca of culinary delights ranging from Michelin-star Chinese restaurants to cha chaan teng - the ubiquitous Cantonese-meets-West cafes. And while cooking used to be looked down on as blue-collar work, the trade has taken on a more prestigious reputation. Being a chef is viewed as an alternative - but respectable - career.

Young chefs are no longer thrown in at the deep end and expected to tread water in the high-pressure environment of a professional kitchen. Today, training starts with the basics at specialised schools where curricula are set by teachers and catering professionals.

When Lee started out, 'times were tough and the environments where chefs worked were not always as clean or safe as they are today'.