In Jincheng, when it comes to intangible cultural heritage cuisine, one cannot help but mention Jincheng Ten Small Bowls. This renowned restaurant specializing in intangible cultural heritage cuisine has garnered numerous positive reviews online. Recently, Cheng Hao, general manager of Jincheng Ten Small Bowls, was awarded the title of “National Advanced Individual Business Operator,” making him the only individual business operator in Jincheng City to receive this honor.
A native of Zezhou County, Cheng Hao has dedicated over 16 years to the catering industry, determined to transform “rural delicacies” into a “culinary industry.” He has consistently adhered to the principles of honest business practices and the concept that food and medicine share the same origins. Drawing on high-quality ingredients and authentic medicinal herbs from the Taihang Mountains, he has prioritized culture and innovation. With the perseverance of a “decade-long IP,” he has successfully established Jincheng’s intangible cultural heritage cuisine as a culinary calling card.
“Cuisine is a culinary calling card that transcends language and even national borders to touch people’s hearts directly,” Cheng Hao said with delight. “Currently, Jincheng is striving to become China’s premier city for cultural tourism and wellness, which offers broader development opportunities for traditional delicacies like the ‘Ten Small Bowls of Jincheng.’ We aim to showcase the lifestyle and culture of Jincheng’s people in the most down-to-earth way, using cuisine as a gateway to promote the city.”
In the Year of the Horse (2014), Jincheng City launched the “Celebrating the Lunar New Year on the Taihang Mountains” series of events. To effectively capitalize on this surge in visitors, Jincheng’s “Ten Small Bowls” restaurant thoroughly prepared its Lunar New Year menu and special Year of the Horse activities. In addition to creating a dedicated Spring Festival menu and New Year gift boxes, the restaurant set up stations in the dining hall offering complimentary samples of healthy foods—such as millet pancakes, warming ginger tea, steamed red dates, and steamed peanuts—for guests waiting to be seated.
Cheng Hao noted that as living standards continue to rise, people’s dietary preferences are gradually shifting from “culinary indulgence” to “nutritional balance”—emphasizing low-oil, light cooking, and reduced sugar and salt. The restaurant closely aligns with customer needs, adhering to the principle of “discovering, reviving, and innovating local cuisine.” It delves into villages to learn authentic folk cooking techniques and dishes, follows the philosophy that food and medicine share the same origins, strictly controls ingredient selection from the source, hones cooking techniques, and seeks a balance between natural flavors and seasoning, striving to “respect the natural taste and enhance freshness with complementary flavors.”
In March 2024, Jincheng Ten Small Bowls innovated its culinary techniques, transforming the traditional Jincheng farmhouse stir-fried millet into “Caviar of the Loess Plateau” for the first time. The refined stir-fried millet features distinct grains and a rich aroma; it was designated a “Famous Dish of Shanxi” and won a silver medal at the 2025 World Chinese Culinary Arts Championship. By the end of 2025, “Caviar from the Loess Plateau” was showcased at UNESCO Headquarters, gaining global recognition.
Currently, Jincheng’s “Ten Small Bowls” is applying for Intangible Cultural Heritage status for its innovative line of millet products, including the improved stir-fried millet, millet pancakes, millet jelly, and millet ice cream. They plan to build a cuisine system with distinct Jincheng characteristics centered around the “Four Seasons,” enabling agricultural products to undergo a “metamorphosis” from the fields to the table.
In Cheng Hao’s view, embedding intangible cultural heritage into urban consumer spaces requires more than merely collaging traditional elements or appropriating cultural symbols; it demands a deep exploration of the cultural fabric’s origins. This process involves intricate details, iterative innovation, and creative ideas—such as the inspiration derived from cross-cultural and cross-industry collaborations.
During the Spring Festival, Jincheng’s “Ten Small Bowls” partnered with “Jinyuntang·Jin Xiao’ao” to set up a visitor experience zone, where they taught tourists how to make pancakes step by step. This not only satisfied the tourists’ “emotional needs” but also conveyed Jincheng’s culinary culture and folk tales.
“In the new era of consumption, if you have high-quality products, you must provide corresponding experiences and services,” " said Cheng Hao. Cross-industry collaboration knows no boundaries; only in this way can we reshape an industry’s complete value chain.
“To run a distinctive intangible cultural heritage restaurant, the foundation lies in multidimensional innovation and R&D capabilities. Our corporate vision is to be rooted in the local community and serve society, relying on technology, innovation, quality, and reputation to survive, and to make the name of Jincheng Ten Small Bowls increasingly renowned.” As we parted ways, Cheng Hao was brimming with confidence. (Du Airong)