Hong Kong International Culinary Classic (HKICC) 2009 exhibits in conjunction with HOFEX 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre runs from 6th – 9th May 2009. This four-day culinary competition, co-organised by The Hong Kong Chefs Associations (HKCA), is targeted at international culinary talents to demonstrate their superb culinary expertise and skills.
In addition to welcoming some leading chefs and industrial professional experts to the organising team this year, HKICC will also invited an international reach of highly-respected chefs and culinary experts to preside over the judging of HKICC 2009.
This year, the competition is made up of 7 main categories ranging from Western Cuisine, Chinese Cuisine, Ice Carving, Pastry, Live Bakery Competition, Live Pastry Competition (NEW), and the Gourmet Team Challenge - each catered to the increasingly sophisticated needs of the food, drinks and hospitality industries.
HKICC is now inviting young and talented chefs from restaurants, clubs, hotels and catering institutions to participate at this international culinary competition. The last edition in 2007 was fully subscribed with over 580 entries. Act immediately to secure you and/or your colleague a placement in this exciting event before it is fully booked.
Holistic training for pastry chefs helps southern youth
Cake-making
HAMBANTOTA – When five students from a hotel school jointly run by Don-Bosco and the Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka presented themselves for an interview at a hotel in Sigiriya, their ‘immaculate’ behaviour – even before the interview – impressed the manager so much that they were hired on the spot.
“The manager was impressed by what he saw as they waited to be called that he hired them without spending much time on an interview,” Don Bosco’s Bro. Gabriel told The Sunday Times FT.
The Don-Bosco Chef’s Guild of Lanka Institute of Hospitality and Catering at Hambantota imparts much more than just hoteliering and catering. The courses have a holistic training module which includes human and moral values, cleanliness and behaviour, Bro Gabriel said.
The hotel school, which also has a small hotel with 7-8 chalets on the beach as a training ground for the students, accommodates about 30 in a batch. It was started soon after the tsunami to help youth in the area learn some skill. The Chef’s Guild runs a bakery and pastry course at a fully automated bakery at the centre. English is also taught to the students.
The students are all Buddhists and the school liaises with the local temple in selecting entrants. According to W. Sayakkara, Pastry/Bakery Chef cum Instructor, most of the students from the previous two batches have got jobs in top hotels in Colombo and elsewhere. The hotel school is concentrating a lot of bakery and pastry courses due to demand for pastry chefs in New Zealand and Australia, he told the newspaper during a recent visit to the centre.
Deeganage Gamini de Silva, 31, who has worked in a hotel in Ambalantota, says he joined the course to learn pastry making and baking as he wants to go to Australia. Nadeeka Ranjani, 21, also wants to go abroad and sees the hotel school as a step in that direction. In the case of Imesha Nadeeshani, 17, the hotel school hopes to set up pastry outlets in the town and elsewhere and plan to give her an opportunity to run one of them.
This Photo is of the Junior Team from Ireland taken right after receiving their Silver Medal at the 2008 Culinary Olympics.Pictured with them are their coaches, the Chairman of the WACS Education Committee John Clancy and WACS President Gissur Gudmundsson. Sorry for the late posting and congratulations to you all again.
A 22-year-old Bridgend chef marked his competition debut by cooking his way to the coveted Young Welsh Chef of the Year title and in the process secured a dream trip to compete in Chile. Joseph Jones, chef de partie at The Great House Hotel, Bridgend, clinched the double reward by beating five other talented young chefs from across Wales at the inaugural Welsh Chefs Conference in Cardiff.
Jones impressed the panel of judges with his creative three course menu that started with an assiette of lobster with lobster, apple and sage tortellini, lobster and Per Las soufflé and classic lobster bisque. His main course was smoked cannon of Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb, fondant potato, shepherd’s pie, carrot puree and a rich lamb jus. To round it all off his dessert was hot chocolate and toffee fondant, beetroot sorbet and pistachio tuille. "It’s an incredible feeling knowing that that I have won the competition," he said. "This is a great reward for six-and-a-half years’ work and I am looking forward to competing more in the future.
" He said he had chosen the menu because of the quality Welsh ingredients and nice flavours and was satisfied with the finished dishes. "I was very happy with the taste of the dishes and everything went according to plan," he added "We knew how good the Elwy Welsh Lamb was and we gave it even more flavour by smoking it ourselves," he explained. "With the dessert, I wanted to finish off with an outstanding chocolate dessert.
" In the final, held at Glamorgan Cricket’s SWALEC Stadium, Jones edged out five rivals, Johnathon Goodman from Ruthin Castle, Ruthin, Tom Middleton from Hotel Maes y Neuadd, Talsarnau, Harlech, Phil Clarke from the Armless Dragon Restaurant, Cardiff, David Szanto from The Chandlery Restaurant, Newport and Andrew Sheridan from The Groes Inn Hotel, Conwy. They each had to cook their own creative menu of a three course dinner for four, using Welsh Lamb, Welsh Beef or pork and a selection of True Taste award winning products.
Jones, who received his award from Deputy Skills Minister John Griffiths at a presentation dinner last night (Wednesday), will represent Wales at the World Skills competition to be held at the World Association of Chefs’ Societies’ Conference in Chile in January, 2010. Chairman of judges, Graham Tinsley, manager of the Welsh National Culinary Team, said Jones was a deserved winner because of the consistency of his three dishes. "The judges had good comments about each of the chefs and it was a well fought battle, but they were unanimous in making Joseph the winner," he added. "It’s pleasing to see that there are some promising junior chefs coming through in Wales." The competition and conference, organised by the Welsh Culinary Association, are sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government to promote the food and drink industry brand ’True Taste’, Hybu Cig Cymru/ Meat Promotion Wales, the Applied Ability Awards, Skills Competition Wales and Tourism Training for Wales. Winner Joseph Jones with the Young Welsh Chef of theYear trophy.
Come August 2011, South Africa will once again play host to the most incredible global culinary event of a lifetime -
The "World Cooks Tour for Hunger 2011".
This amazing event will take place throughout South Africa from 21st-30th August 2011 and will see more than 200 international and local Chefs come together to raise more than ZAR 2 million (South African Rand) helping the poor and the underprivileged to receive a warm meal and more.
Today begins a series of articles in which we will reveal the personal experiences of Chefs who have had the privilege of attending the World Cooks Tour for Hunger in South Africa. We begin with my own reflections from the first day of the 2003 World Cooks Tour for Hunger.
Day 1.15th August 2003 As a great many of the chefs had arrived a day or two earlier it was decided that we would stage a march protesting against Hunger through the centre of the infamous township of Alexandria finishing at the Police station Lock Up where we would feed some 200 local homeless and disadvantaged children the only warm meal that they were going to get that day and possibly the next.
"2.5 Million children in South Africa will go hungry today and tomorrow there will be more."
So there we were, about 80 International and local Chefs, looking grand in our white starched jackets and tall hats, standing on the pothole studded streets of Alex. Accompanied by three Police vehicles and a local Fire Brigade complete with a large red Fire Engine, sirens blaring and flashing lights, we felt assured that we were not going to go unnoticed. The slip of dirt on either side of the tarred road that passed for a sidewalk was overflowing with raggedy dressed, barefooted children with more and more faces cramming into small uncovered windows and doorways of rusty coloured corrugated shacks and run down, virtually falling down government erected housing of the apartheid era.
With banners and flags unfurled and our hearts filled with great pride, a little fear and much anxiety, the chefs of the World marched shoulder to shoulder as one, united in thought and purpose hoping to make but a little difference in the otherwise bleak existence of a hungry Child's life.
At the Police station the atmosphere was a biz with the excited chatter of children, all of them wanting to have their photo taken with these white clad strangers from far off places. Children singing and dancing waiting patiently as the time built up to when the food would be served. Lining up in a seemingly endless queue that snaked its way around the otherwise colourless compound and back again. With their faces filled with joy knowing that today something good was going to happen, today they were going to eat for sure but more than that they might get a souvenir pin or a flag or even a chefs hat or jacket that they could show and tell their friends and extended families and neighbours about that evening and possibly for days to come.
Then there were the children that stood quietly with their small mostly dirty hands clutching onto a still empty plate, some of them with knees trembling from hunger, smiled sheepishly as they slowly chewed a mouthful of fresh bread trying to make each bite last longer than the one before until it was their turn at last to stand before the enormous pots of food and receive their portion of Spaghetti and Meat Balls in Tomato sauce over Mashed Potatoes along with a choice of orange or lime cordial. For those children, their movements were focused and careful, walking slowly selecting a quiet place to sit away from the crowd a place where they could find peace and take much needed nourishment and comfort from a warm plate of food knowing that at least for today they were safe from the endless stabbing pain of hunger.
Thus began my incredible life changing 10-day journey into the heart of the South African "World Cooks Tour For Hunger 2003."
Congratulations to the Singapore Junior Chefs Club leading the world in hosting yet another excellent competition event. After 4 years of successful and continual growth, the Tabasco HoT Chef Team Challenge is now set to go regional.
This year for the first time the winning team from Hong Kong joined the Singapore event for the cook off piting their skills against the best of the Singapore Teams. With the Singapore team coming out on top a great day of learning and friendship was had by all setting the stage for bigger billing for the future. From all of us at WACS Junior well done Young Chefs!
Dear chefs, colleagues, friends and presidents of national Chefs associations,
Please allow me to invite you all to come and take part in Asia’s 1st Culinary Cup that will be hold in Bangkok from the 1st – 5th of September 2009 at the Siam Paragon right in the center of Bangkok.
We have opened our website since a few days, and would like you to have a look on all the competitions that we are offering and hopefully will be able to welcome you in the Land of smile next year.
We will however continue to inform you of any developments, which will occur over the next 300 days when the Contest will officially open.
