A ste
p up from traditional home cooking and plating is special festive and heritage cooking, which is done for important occasions such as Lunar New Year, Taoist holy days, or weddings. More time and expense are allotted to making traditional delicacies and dishes for these occasions, and their makers are expected to exercise their craft and skill to the utmost degree.
As for @chinese_plating, the account is photographic evidence for how varied Chinese food can be, Mackenbach said. “This is obviously not everyday, common food; most people throughout Chinese history absolutely do not eat such exorbitant dishes,” he added. “It can be quite wasteful, and some of it is not even meant to be eaten — the raw pumpkin carving, for example. It was mostly for show, for business meetings or extravagant occasions.” He claimed that this elaborate plating style stems from a tradition of Chinese cultural elite and literati putting on events and banquets.