WUHAN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Crayfish, usually served spicy with cold beer on hot summer nights in China, has jumped from dining tables to classrooms.
A vocational college in central China's Hubei Province launched a program to enroll students in a crayfish major and award them official certificates after graduation to produce more cooks and managers for the booming industry.
In the autumn, the first group of 86 students will begin two to three years of study at the crayfish school, affiliated with Jianghan Art Vocational College in Qianjiang City.
They are given a choice of three majors: crayfish cooking and nutrition, catering management, and marketing. The graduates are expected to work in major crayfish restaurants or start their own businesses.
The school was established in March. Its predecessor was a private training center established in August 2015. It has already provided short-term training for more than 1,580 people in raising and cooking crayfish, though they did not receive official diplomas.
Yang Junfeng, 30, was one of them. In a classroom, he raised the burner heat to high and stir-fried crayfish with soy sauce, minced garlic, star anise and myrcia in a wok.
The experienced cook has mastered the preparation of more than 10 dishes including braised, steamed and garlic crayfish after a week-long training program.
Yang runs a small fish restaurant in his hometown, Jingmen City on the Jianghan Plain, a major producer of rice, cotton, fish and shrimp.
With fertile land and a large network of rivers and lakes, the plain is an ideal habitat for crayfish.
Native to North America, the species was brought to east China's Jiangsu Province by a Japanese merchant in the 1920s or 1930s. They appeared in the plain about 30 years ago, and villagers found the shellfish tasty and turned them into big business.
"Every household in my hometown can make fish dishes. So you'd better have something new for customers," said Yang, the owner and cook at an eatery.
In 2010, braised crayfish took Jingmen by storm, becoming even more popular than fish. Every night, crayfish restaurants were brightly lit and crowded with a sea of foodies, Yang said.
"People even waited for two hours just for a seat in those snack shops," Yang said. "A braised crayfish dish that cost 20 yuan (around 3 U.S. dollars) to make could be sold for 138 yuan. How profitable the market is!"
According to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese consumption of crayfish has jumped by one third to 879,300 tonnes a year over the past two years.
Annual output reached 899,100 tonnes in 2016, making China the world's largest producer of crayfish, accounting for over 70 percent of the world's total. Raising and processing crayfish and related service industries provided nearly 5 million jobs in the country.
The nationwide craze has boosted the crayfish cooking profession. According to Yang, most crayfish chefs come from Qianjiang City.
"They can earn a monthly salary of up to 30,000 yuan," he said.
Zhang Guo'an, chairman of the crayfish school, said fostering more talent for the profitable industry is an urgent task.
He revealed that the crayfish school will train 10,000 cooks and another 10,000 to raise crayfish, as well as help graduates open 1,000 Qianjiang crayfish chain stores across the country in the next five years.
After Yang returns home, he plans to overhaul his snack shop to make crayfish its signature dish.
"I learned a lot in the school. If you don't have something special, you will be kicked out of the market," he said.
