(FoxNews) A culinary group in Hong Kong has announced plans to shell out $650,000 to bring more than 250 kitchen workers to Hong Kong to see their families.
The “Hong Kong Chefs’ Golden Ticket” lottery is one of the largest lottery draws in Asia and is sold to 200 restaurants across the city.
The lucky 250 staff members are winning and right now, they just have to hold out.
“When I received this call, my heart dropped. Since I was a little boy, I dreamt about becoming a chef,” Cheung Son-bin, one of the lucky entrants said.
“I dreamed of the big houses, the big cars, and all the fashion and glamour. The first thing that crossed my mind was seeing my family. And I had a lot of people pressuring me not to win the money so I think I should give up,” Cheung added.
The move was created by the Hong Kong Chefs’ Association (HKCA), an organization which represents over 400,000 chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers in the city. HKCA says it wants to ensure all restaurant owners in the city have equal chances to engage in the lottery as it creates additional jobs and generates additional revenue.
“They are going to be able to go home and take some time off because the restaurants will have to take on additional staff,” Norman Tse, the HKCA Secretary General told Fox News.
“It’s [for the] large percentage of them that will be left at home so they don’t have time to [replace them],” Tse added.
In order to enter the lottery, employees need to have worked for the same restaurant group for at least 18 months. Those wishing to compete for the prize are still welcome to join and staff in over 200 restaurants across the city have submitted applications. The winner will be announced in December.
Fox News’ Chris Eldridge contributed to this report.