BEIJING -- Beijing is choosing chefs from cooking-majored undergraduates nationwide to cater for Beijing 2008 summer Olympics, according to the event organizers on Tuesday.

This is part of the host city's effort to update its catering industry and train more chefs for the grand sports celebration.

Over 230 students from cooking institutes under Yangzhou University, in east China's Jiangsu Province, have become the first group of undergraduate chef candidates, said Sang Jian, director of training project under China Cooking Association (CCA).

The students will receive cuisine training hosted by CCA and take part in a series of cooking contests. Only the winners will have a chance to work at Olympics-related dining halls, Sang said.

The candidates are also required to speak fluent English to have better communication with officials, athletes, coaches from all over the world, he said.

As the Tokyo Olympic Games boosted the popularity of Japanese sushi and the Seoul Olympics made Korean kimchi catch on, we should also take the chance of hosting the Olympics to make Chinese food more famous, he added.