One Quarter Coffee in Beijing has started takeaway services and turned to livestreaming to promote its specialty. CHINA DAILY

Digital dinners

On Feb 14, a livestream on the app Douguo by Wang Ruofei, a chef at the Xibei restaurant chain, showing him making a beef dish attracted over 50,000 viewers. The chain sold 533 beef dishes and 684 portions of semifinished lamb-spine hotpot following the streaming.

Douguo co-founder Zhong Feng says the company created a group for restaurant chains' chefs to livestream after Spring Festival.

"Our users are all interested in cooking, so the chefs' livestreams quickly became popular on our app," he says.

Although Douguo staffers help chefs prepare, most are nervous and don't know how to interact with audiences, Zhong says.

"But viewers can tell the chefs are professional by their knife work or their body language when they talk about food," he says.

He says this is a win-win cooperation because chefs are like "shared staff" for both their platform and the restaurants.

"Currently, we only have chefs in Beijing to host the shows. In the future, even when the epidemic is over, we plan to continue this program and invite chefs from all over the world to join," Zhong says.