Mr. Sebastian LIU, Senior Kitchen Head of the New Star Catering Group, says "customers nowadays favour healthy dishes; what's more, healthy cooking becomes the theme of cooking contests time and again. Because of such theme, they use healthier Cooking Methods like steaming and blanching instead of pan-frying and deep-frying. They also use less salt, less sugar and less flavour enhancers; instead, they use no-fat chicken broth or vegetable soup to boost the flavour of their dishes."

Mr. LIU says, "To encourage the culinary staff to develop new dishes, the group's management holds monthly tasting sessions. Random checks are conducted on dishes to ensure food quality. Members of the cooking team always try out new cooking ideas after business hours to upgrade their skill-sets."

"The secret of developing new dishes is to think fresh and be innovative." Mr. LIU says. Mr. LIU continues to enrich himself by participating in culinary competitions, as they offer him great opportunities to learn from others in the industry. He also continues to broaden his exposure by reading about food festivals and exhibitions and actually being there.