Wang Ruofei, a chef with the chain catering brand Xibei Oat Noodle Village, taught how to cook special restaurant cuisine during a live broadcast recently, attracting over 50,000 views and selling 1,217 ingredients used in the dish, Economic Information Daily Reported.

In fact, it is only an example of catering enterprises cooperating with Internet platforms to stimulate business amid the pneumonia outbreak.

As consumers tend to not eat at the restaurants amid the epidemic, 93 percent of the catering businesses have closed the stores to cut the costs, according to a report released by China Cuisine Association (CCA).

Faced with bad business and idle employees, some catering companies have teamed up with Internet platforms and conceived innovative new models of development.

The online food recipe provider Douguo, one of such platforms, has allowed chefs to share recipes with users by means of live broadcasts and will furthermore assist in sells involving semi-ready food, condiments, etc. of the restaurants. Douguo intends to invite at least 1,500 chefs in the future to engage in live video streaming, according to a manager with the platform.

By embracing the Internet, catering enterprises have popularized healthy diet culture, strengthened the interaction with consumers and explored new scenarios for their business models, said Su Jun, director of the e-commerce commission with China Association of Trade in Services.