Trophees de l'Esprit Alimentaire (trophy for the spirit of nourishment), an award given for French culinary excellence, announced their Chinese winners at an event in Beijing recently.

The award was founded by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Sopexa China Agency in 2014, to honor Chinese companies and individuals who have made a special contribution to promoting French cuisine and gastronomic culture in China.

Hundreds of events about French cuisine have been held in China every year since France and China established official diplomatic relations in 1964.Jean-Raphael Peytregnet, consul general of the French embassy in China, attended the awards ceremony, and said the spirit of French cuisine had spread far and wide in China.

COFCO W&W International won the company of the year award, while Metro Jinjiang picked up the award for best retail platform.

Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Shanghai was named best educator.

Li Bei, China's chief delegate at the Counsel Argo-Alimentaire France-Chine, was handed the award for best communicator.

Yu Yang, chef at F. Bistronome in Beijing, picked up the best chef award. Yu studied at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Paris and now is bringing authentic French ingredients and flavors to food lovers in Beijing.