Forty chefs from around the world showed they've got "wok" it takes to come up with great Chinese dishes and help ensure that Cathay Pacific continues to serve quality local cuisine on its flights.

The chefs, all from inflight caterers that provide meals for the airline across its global network, came together in Hong Kong this week for the three-day Chinese Chefs' Workshop 2008. After starting out with a tai chi session overlooking Victoria Harbour, the chefs embarked on a packed programme that took in various cooking demonstrations, a tour of wet markets and a dim sum experience.

The workshop gave the chefs the opportunity to learn about Chinese cooking styles and ingredients, and the techniques used to create Chinese dishes that taste great at 35,000 feet in the air. It also gave them the chance to discover more about the "food paradise" that is Hong Kong. Meanwhile, their practical skills were put to the test in a cooking competition held as part of the workshop.

Cathay Pacific Director Service Delivery Quince Chong said: "Inflight meals are an integral part of the passenger journey and at Cathay Pacific we are committed to providing excellent food for our discerning passengers. As Hong Kong's home carrier, Chinese cuisine will always be a crucial element of our inflight menus, so we are delighted to bring these chefs from around the world to learn the finer points of our local cuisine. They certainly showed their skills in the cooking competition and they can now help us ensure we continue to serve the best Chinese food in the air."

Photograph 1: The 40 chefs from overseas get into the rhythm of Hong Kong life at an early-morning tai chi session.

Photograph 2: The chefs discovered more about Chinese ingredients during a tour of a Hong Kong wet market.

Photograph 3: New-found knowledge about Chinese culinary techniques was tested to the full in a cooking competition organised as part of the workshop.

Photograph 4: Cathay Pacific's Director Service Delivery Quince Chong (second from left) leads the judges during the cooking competition held to test the skills of the 40 overseas chefs.