Demonstrating excellent cooking skills in Chef’s Kitchen
The Macao International Book Fair 2019, featured in the 2nd Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and jointly organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao SAR Government and the China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation, concluded successfully on 7 July. The four-day event attracted over 12,000 visitors and more than 250 publishers and gourmet chefs from around the world. Over 10,000 books were exhibited and about 40% of the books were sold. On-site sales and advanced deposit were about MOP300,000. The book fair, themed “A Taste of Macao”, successfully created a grand gathering of Chinese and Portuguese literature by using books as a medium to gather friends from around the world, and achieved the desired result.
The debut Macao International Book Fair 2019, a new programme in this year's Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, aims to create a platform for promoting Macao’s publications. The book fair encouraged the exchange and negotiation of copyright by focusing on the theme, quality and diversified positioning of participating countries and regions, promoting in-depth cooperation between Portuguese-speaking countries, countries along the “Belt and Road” and China in copyright trade, publishing and other fields. During the book fair, more than 50 activities were held, with the participation of 69 publishers from 26 countries and regions, including eight Portuguese-speaking countries such as Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde, as well as publishers from Europe, Southeast Asia and South America, among others. Some exhibitors dressed in national costumes to introduce local food culture and communicate with the public, showcasing cultural integration. More than 20 publishers from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan also participated in the event, and 25 excellent performances were held at the Chef’s Kitchen. The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Ceremony, famed as the “Oscars” of the world of food and wine and known for its 24-year history, was held in Macao for the first time. Macanese Cuisine – Origins and Evolution, published by International Institute of Macau, was awarded the “Best Portuguese Food Book”; the Macao Government Tourism Office was awarded the “Best Website for City of Gastronomy” by the UNESCO, which demonstrated the strength of Macao as a “City of Gastronomy”.
A number of publishers took this event as an opportunity to promote in-depth exchanges and cross-regional publishing cooperation, aiming to promote publications with Macao characteristics all over the world. Senac São Paulo Publishing House from Brazil, Editorial Presença from Portugal, Association of Mozambican Writers and Azerbaijan National Culinary Association expressed their strong interests in publishing Chinese culinary and cultural books; Editorial Presença from Portugal will have strategic cooperation with China Light Industry Press Ltd. and consider introducing copyrights of some Chinese book; Senac São Paulo Publishing House from Brazil and Higher Education Press have conducted preliminary business negotiation on book publishing. The book fair also facilitated many Chinese and foreign publishing companies to reach more than 10 kinds of book copyright cooperation intentions and also carried out a cooperation conference on the introduction of Macao e-book, the reading platform on App and the electronic database.
A number of activities related to publishing culture and copyright trade were held, including the China-PSC publishing culture seminar themed on “Promoting Development and Seeking Cooperation―New Opportunities for Publications on Food Culture”, “10+10 Cookbook Publishers Exchange Session” and lectures on “Publishing Trends in the World of Food and Wine”. Sales in the Macao Pavilion, which was jointly organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Macao Foundation and Institute for Tourism Studies, reached satisfactory results. The section “Macao Food Culture Publications” showcased gastronomy books by 15 local publishers, including Macao Daily News Publishing House and Macao Publications Association, among others, attracting publishers from all over the world to inquire and build channels for exchanges and cooperation.
The popular Chef’s Kitchen featured 25 cooking demonstrations by famous chefs from France, Portugal, Belgium and other countries, allowing the audience to experience the world’s food cultures. A number of writers was invited to the book fair to share their gastronomy and creative experiences, including famous writers Chua Lam, Ge Liang, Liu Zhenyun and Craig Au Yeung Ying Chai, and local writers Tong Mui Siu, Yao Feng, Wang Chen Pao, as well as the well-known local specialist in Macanese cuisine Cecília Jorge, among others. The event was well received by the public. Seats for some of the activities were increased due to the public demand. A number of autograph sessions were well received by book aficionados and the books were sold out quickly. During the book fair, several book launches were held, including “Oral History of Macao Series” and Chinese and English picture album Zhuhai.
The Macao International Book Fair 2019 aims to explore in-depth cooperation in publishing and other fields on the basis of copyright trade, broaden the public’s reading and cultural horizons through thematic book fair, and inject vitality into Macao book publishing market. To encourage a culture of reading, some overseas exhibitors will donate over 100 Chinese and foreign food publications to the public libraries and university libraries in Macao to promote cultural exchanges between Macao and other regions.
