The "New Era, New Shandong Cuisine" 2021 Shandong Cuisine Innovation Competition has attracted much attention from society and industry since its opening on Sept 16, with gourmets and cooks from home and abroad participating.

A bass dish from Weifang, Shandong province. As of Nov 2, the dish topped the polls with 581,527 votes in the competition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As of 6:00 pm on Oct 29, 619 dishes had been submitted for the competition. In addition to the 136 districts and counties in 16 cities of Shandong province, the competition has also attracted the attention and participation of gourmands from the United States, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Britain, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Peru, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and China's Hong Kong. The total number of votes for participating dishes currently stands at 7.2 million.

"The contest has attracted more and more inquiries and entries from professionals and food lovers at home and abroad, so we have to postpone the submission date by one month," said Chen Yongqing, director of the competition organizing committee and Party secretary of Shandong Base Station of China Media Group.

A dish called "Fresh Orange Cashew Shrimp Balls" by the Cambridge China Centre. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The competition received its first overseas entry, the "Fresh Orange Cashew Shrimp Balls" from the Cambridge China Centre, on Oct 22. The dish has attracted much attention and many votes after it was launched, according to the competition organizers.

"The competition is unprecedented in our industry," said He Zhuanglong, vice-chairman of China Tourist Hotel Association and chairman of Shandong Tourist Hotel Association.

Stewed chicken in clear soup from Dongying, Shandong province. The dish came in second with 565,785 votes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The scope of the competition, the number of participants, and the promotion and influence of the competition are all unprecedented," added He.

Xi Yanchuan, an official from the Shandong Provincial Publicity Department, said that the event will help to promote the innovative development of Shandong cuisine and tell Shandong's stories around the world.

Spiced braised chicken from Yucheng, a county-level city in Dezhou, Shandong province. The dish came in third with 410,947 votes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]