It's time to get our food on -- and for that chefs are cooking up a storm in Netherlands at the World Championship of Chinese Cuisine. This marks the first time that the Netherlands is hosting this competition. In the end, it was a team from one of  China's most famous restaurants that took home the top honor! 

If these championship contenders look relaxed, that's because they can stand the heat.

Photo taken on Sept. 19, 2016 shows a Chinese dish on the World Championship of Chinese Cuisine in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The World Championship of Chinese Cuisine was held from Sept. 19 to Sept. 21 in Rotterdam.(Xinhua/Gong Bing)

In their kitchen at China's famous Quanjude restaurant they work the sharp end of diplomacy, serving food fit for world leaders for more than a century.

Among them, US President Richard Nixon on his groundbreaking visit to meet Chairman Mao, a diplomatic triumph that, some argue, led to China's place today as the world's second largest economy.

For team Quanjude that's history, this competition cooking.

Beijing Duck their signature dish, their competition theme Mudan, the peony -- China's beloved flower, reflected in all eight dishes with which team leader Fu Lisheng hoped to clinch the world crown.

"Beijing duck is our national dish and Mudan our national flower, it represents China's cultural reach. The best food and an image of a new China," said Fu Lisheng, team leader of Quanjude.

The team had two-and-a-half hours to prepare Zhang Jingyu here starting early with the near magical skills of an expert noodle maker.

The Beijing champion tells me she works the noodles every day and has the arms to prove it.

"The practice gives me muscles that are much stronger than a normal woman," said Zhang Jingyu, Team Qian Ji De Quanjude.

And this is what's became of those noodles, Lai Yu Leng Xu Bing, the hair of the dragon, let's try it mmm.

The dishes are beginning to come together as the deadline approaches.

The starters setting a tone for the entire meal.

The idea behind the championship explained by Yang Liu, chair of the World Championship's ruling body.

"We want to improve Chinese cuisine at every level around the world. We also want to hand on skills to the next generation and to share China's culture," said Yang Liu, chair of World Championship of Chinese Cuisine.

Back at Team Qian Ji De Quanjude, their signature Beijing Duck is presented to the judges in a competition being held for the first time in Europe.

Their faces give nothing away as the minutes tick down to make-your-mind-up time.

What you hear from all the competitors here is that it's not just the winning that's important it's the learning, the learning from others in the competition and of course the learning here is at a world class standard.

As it turned out, Team Quanjude aren't the new world champions, but they did all win a first in their specialist areas.