A feast for the ages

Shanxi named Pingding's sanba feast as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2011, and Zhao was named a fourth-generation inheritor.

He leads 17 chefs, some of whom have worked with him for two decades, at Laohao restaurant.

People no longer only enjoy sanba banquets during special occasions.

So, the restaurant must work faster to serve the feast.

"We receive eight to 10 tables of guests a day," says Liu Xianping, a senior manager at Laohao.

"Many locals will simply come together to enjoy the feast, especially during weekends and holidays."

Since most guests know how the banquet should look and taste, Zhao says they must make sure everything is just right.

The team members who prepare the meals review one another's work to ensure the whole banquet is presented with consistent quality, he adds.

Zhao says he hasn't given too much thought to the future.

"I've been cooking the sanba feast all my life," he says.

"And I didn't want to change much."