If cooking is a Cantonese religion, then the chefs are its high priests and priestesses. Cantonese dishes have made a name for themselves in every corner of the globe. that's Guangzhou interviews four masters who represent this culinary tradition. Find out how these wizards of the wok work wonders in the kitchen and why some dishes are considered quintessentially Cantonese.

　　Liu Che Lik

　　From childhood, Liu Che Lik has always loved cooking. Hanging out with his uncle in Hong Kong, who happened to be head chef of the city's famed Ya Yuan Seafood Restaurant, started Liu on his own path to chefhood . As a 14-year-old, Liu swept restaurant floors by day, while at night he sharpened his culinary skills by practising at home what he had learnt peering over the shoulders of some of the city's greatest chefs.

　　"When I was working in the kitchen I would ask as many questions as I could of the other chefs," said Liu. Liu is currently executive chef of Chinese cuisine at the China Hotel.

　　After spending seven years in Guangzhou, Liu has earned a reputation as one of the city's top chefs and knows where to find good Canto-grub. "I like to go out when I have free time and try different dishes so I can get more ideas for my own cooking," said Liu, whose favourite restaurants include the Dong Hai Seafood near City Plaza in Tianhe and the Lijing Ming Zhu near the Pearl River New Estates.

　　According to Liu, the glory of Cantonese cooking is in its constant state of change and ready incorporation of other cuisines. One such example is huang shao chi, also known as imperial braised shark's fin (RMB 268). While Liu is tight-lipped about the details of his recipe, he confesses the light soup uses duck, chicken and ham in the soup stock. Specially imported fish from southern Australia is used as the main ingredient.

　　Liu's huang shao chi is a variation of shark fin's soup invented by Tan Zongjun, a Guangdong-born Qing Dynasty official who is famed for creating a series of dishes which includes bird's nest soup. These and about 200 other recipes are now known as Tan Family Cuisine.

　　We cannot promise you five-star results like Liu's, but see the sidebar for a basic idea of how to whip up some of your own shark's fin.

　　Braised Shark's Fin

　　Ingredients:

　　1700g shark's fin soaked in water

　　25g dried scallops

　　250g minced ham

　　3000g chicken fat

　　750g duck meat

　　Method:

　　1. Steam the shark's fin and then boil with seasonings until the fishy smell is gone, remove to a bowl.

　　2. Put the chicken and duck in boiling water, boil till soft and tender.

　　3. Place the chicken, duck and ham on the shark's fin, simmer for six hours.

　　4. Put the shark's fin into a saucepan. Steam the dried scallop till tender, pour together with the soup over the shark's fin, boil, transfer to a plate and sprinkle with minced ham.

　　Chen Shu Xin

　　Chen Shu Xin had humble beginnings, cleaning fish at the Dong Fang Hotel just as China was opening up in the early '80s. For ten years he worked his way up the culinary ladder and helped feed such eminent guests as Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher. Now Chen heads the kitchen staff at Xin Li Zhi Wan Jiu Lou in the Electronic Plaza on Huanshi Dong Lu.

　　Despite Chinese food's international renown, local chefs in Guangzhou feel they don't receive enough recognition for their gourmet creations. "Chinese chefs still don't have as much exposure as French chefs do because this industry is just starting to open up," says Chen. "We're just starting to have more opportunities for international exposure and exchange."

　　One factor helping Cantonese chefs into the international limelight is the recent fusion trend known as 'New Style Cantonese,' which adds Western ingredients to Cantonese dishes. Ingredients such as parsley, cheese and olive oil are now used in Cantonese cooking. "This adds a lot more flavour and variety to Cantonese cuisine," explains Chen.

　　Current affairs create trends and seasons too. This year's theme is health food, courtesy of avian flu and SARS. More veggies are on the menu this year, explains Chen, along with organic ingredients fresh from the countryside.

　　An excellent example of New Style Cantonese cooking recommended by Chen is a braised lobster dish called xi jiao chao longxia (RMB 188). A trio of onion and green and yellow pepper slices are lightly fried and pasted with a soy and huangdou sauce which is spread over succulent steamed lobster chunks, which fall right off the shell into your mouth.

　　Chen also whips up an artfully prepared Chaozhou dish called hua kai fu gui (RMB 88). This consists of dumplings made of a savoury mash of crab meat, crab's eggs and squid delicately wrapped in tofu skins and deep fried. Half a dozen crisp and leafy dumplings are ingeniously displayed to appear as a flower emerging from a cluster of rocks, all done with a little help from some mushrooms and a spring onion.