Traditional Chinese roast duck chain Quanjude, which has already upset purists by changing its English name to “Quanjude Peking Roast Duck — Since 1864″, now intends to use electric ovens instead of wood.

The China Youth Daily reports the shocking news that the new method applies German-developed computer technology to roast Peking Duck instead of the age-old method of chefs turning the ducks on a spit in a firewood oven,

Han Xiaofen was quoted by the newspaper as saying, ‘We commoners not only eat Quanjude duck for its flavor, but also for the hundreds of years of tradition and culture that our ancestors left to us.’

This is serious stuff. 3,066 people were surveyed and 77% were opposed to using electric roasters, and 63% were worried that the move would popularize the brand as a fast-food chain.

Quanjude, whose history dates back to the Qing Dynasty in 1864, raised RMB388 million on the Shenzhen bourse in November when it became the first Chinese food and beverage company to go public. The company which sells more than three million ducks a year at its nine restaurants and 61 franchised outlets.

This writer is not the person to comment. He has tried the stuff and dislikes it. He prefers his mother’s Sunday roast and she was a lousy cook making up for it by being a good writer.
Source: Yahoo