24 September 2009

40th WorldSkills Calgary, Canada

40th WorldSkills Calgary, Canada - Reported By Andreas Muller
The 40th WorldSkills 2009 was hosted in Calgary, Canada from September 2-7, 2009

Home to Cowboys, oil refineries and Canada’s banking and industrial giants, Calgary was to many competitors, experts, visiting delegations and visitors the place to showcase and see firsthand the latest trends, techniques and competence what WorldSkills has to offer. From hairstyling to refrigeration, there was a variety of ways to get a better understanding of what skilled trades and technology careers have to offer; not only in our country, but all over the world.
WorldSkills competitors and experts were given the opportunity prior to the competition to tour through the beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains at Banff National Park- a truly unforgettable experience to experience a warm welcome reception of live local music, and a gourmet BBQ meal at a nearby Ranch. WorldSkills Calgary 2009 Ltd. had organized a truly Western-Canadian spread of food, drinks, music and hospitality to follow this exciting expedition.
The week-long preparation and competition showcased the skills brought together by the finest young professionals under the age of 22 years in trades and technologies from 51 Member countries/regions. More than 900 Competitors in 45 skills vied for the gold medals and awards over four days of intense, often highly stressful competition. Hong Kong was present under the WorldSkills Category 34-Cooking Trade with competitor Mr. Luk Wai Shing, Wilson, former trainee of the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre Food Preparation-Western and myself as expert.
The food service industry encompasses a wide and interesting range of job opportunities for cooks. While specific duties vary depending on the type of establishment, it is the cook's responsibility to prepare meals that are both appealing and nutritious. They are also responsible for food costing, safety and sanitation.
Over the 4 day competition, competitor from 34 nations had to compete in 7 Modules the following tasks:
· prepare, season and cook a variety of foods according to given instructions
· create and test new recipes as per Mystery Basket Module
· operate machinery associated with food preparation
· carve meats, determine portion sizes, arrange foods and add sauces, gravies and garnish to servings
· bake desserts and pastries
· prepare buffets such as platters and showpieces
· oversee menu planning, estimate food requirements and obtain the necessary food from storage or from suppliers to maintain an inventory of kitchen provisions
· prepare and follow budgets
· supervise kitchen staff

Throughout the competition, Chef Sing has performed the given task to his best ability. He has shown endurance and his competency status along European, Asian and Northern American competitors are in line with international standards. He has performed his assigned task with passion and has gained reputation by many experts for his adoptive mode in handling the competition in a fair and flexible way.

The 40th WorldSkills Competition is officially over. The medals, awards and certificates have all been distributed on stage to the hard working competitors of WorldSkills Calgary 2009.

Germany, Korea and UK have been awarded Gold medal, whereas Chinese Taipei have been awarded a Bronze medal. Unfortunately there were no Silver medal awards and 17 nations have been awarded a Medal of Excellence by performing above the 500 point marking system.
It is proudly to mention that Hong Kong, under the WorldSkills Category 34-Cooking has placed itself into the rank of 14 out of 34 nations.

The closing ceremony of the 40th WorldSkills Competition took place in the Corral at Stampede Park. All 45 skills announced their champions, followed by the Best of Nation, presented by the WorldSkills board of directors. At the end of the event, the WorldSkills flag was passed on from WorldSkills Calgary 2009 to the next competition host, WorldSkills London 2011.

22 September 2009

German Junior Chef wins Gold at the World Skills

Germany
Florian Neumann wins in Calgary
German Junior Chef wins Gold at the World Skills

With one point ahead (533) wins the 20 years old Florian Neumann from Maritim Hotel Berlin/Travemuende at the Worldskills in Calgary, Canada the gold medal.

With a very short distance behind him came in the Korean Junior Chef Park Sun Hung and also Adam Smith from GB with the Taiwanese Chen Chian-Hung.
Important for the victory of the young German Chef was his possibility of concentration, his working systems, cleanness and his Professionalism. The judes were looking the winner out by a blind tasting.

The competition tasks contained several working modules like 30 pieces of fingerfood, four hot fish dishes, four hot desserts, four lamb dishes, 30 Mini-desserts and also a mystery basket as a special task for all 33 participating Nations.
To watch the Video from the award ceremony go to Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDt7utgwso

Persatuan Juru Masak Malaysia Cawangan Pulau Pinang
馬 來 西 亞 廚 師 公 會 檳 城 分 會 馬 來 西 亞 廚 師 公 會 檳 城 分 會馬 來 西 亞 廚 師 公 會 檳 城 分 會 馬 來 西 亞 廚 師 公 會 檳 城 分 會
CHEFS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA, PENANG CHAPTER
MEMBER OF WORLD ASSOCIATION OF CHEFS SOCIETIES (WACS) ADDRESS: 26-B, Rangoon Road, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
TEL/FAX: 604-2268659 EMAIL: campg2005@yahoo.com WEBSITE: www.campg.org
“A TASTE OF GOURMET EXPERIENCE”
The SALVATION ARMY Penang Fine Dining Dinner Treat
12th September 2009, 7.30pm at Logan Road, Penang

Our 2 years old Penang Junior Chefs Club (PJCC) with its committees and members, working together with a team of trainee service staffs plus a few trainees’ mass communication personnel and with a little guidance from CAM. Pg Chapter Committees treated a group of 80 guests from the Salvation Army Children Home with a 5 course fine dining western set dinner and performances entitles “A Taste of Gourmet Experience” recently.

The purpose of serving a Fine Dining Western Set Dinner to the youth is to provide them an opportunity to experience the uniqueness of fine dining of hotel services and to educate them the proper table etiquettes which may fully prepared them for their future undertaking. Our junior chefs and team hope that through this event, they can show & shower their love and care to these little guests of The Salvation Army thru their presentations of food and show.

We are honored to have so many Distinguished Guests and Sponsors amongst us on that night. We would like to record our sincere appreciations to all our sponsors for their supports and understanding of our cause, as without their kind and generous supports & contributions of the ingredients, products & equipment, we will definitely not been able to accomplish this very unique event hence contributing & delivering this ‘life long experience’ to the happiness of this very special group of the youth.

Lastly, we wish to express our very heartfelt thanks & appreciation to all our colleagues, helpers and well wishers in supporting and assisting us in making this very noble and meaningful event a great success. Thank you!

Reported by: Khor Ying Jia Organizing Chairman PJCC Secretary

15 September 2009

A ALL WOMEN CHEFS TEAM OF MANDARIN STAR WINS BOCUSE D'OR ASIA 2010 MALAYSIA SELECTION.

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 September 2009 – This year marks the first time that Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur has participated in the Bocuse d'Or competition and is proud to announce that See Lay Na, Junior Sous Chef at Pacifica, has emerged as the winner. Lay Na outstanding and creative dishes added with her dedication has made her outshine all competitors.
After her successful debut, Lay Na and her assistant, Mandy Goh, will be representing Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur at the Bocuse d'Or Asia 2010 competition that will be held in Shanghai, China. In the Shanghai competition, pressure is building as it stands a chance for her to be qualified for the Bocuse d'Or 2011 that will be held in Lyon, France. They will be coached by Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur's Executive Chef, Marcel Kofler, who has been motivating and inspiring them with his knowledge on culinary arts.
"Throughout the years that Lay Na has been with Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur, she has shown lots of perseverance and her work has always been notable. The dishes designed by her was remarkable and has made a great impression with all the judges and peers," said Executive Chef Marcel. "We truly believe she will excel in the next competition and we hope she come back as a winner!"
See Lay Na joined Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur in 2006 and has shown dedication since her first days at Mandarin Oriental. Her positive competitiveness has rewarded her with many accolades on national cooking competitions such as the Culinaire Malaysia 2007 where she took two Golds and one Silver medal. Lay Na and Mandy both have been instrumental in the opening of Pacifica, Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur's fine dining seafood restaurant. Accustomed to each others talents, and led by Lay Na's leadership skills, their teamwork is remarkable and the understanding with little spoken words during service hours makes them a very well attuned crew.
Named after Chef Paul Bocuse, the Bocuse d'Or competition is a world chef championship that is frequently referred to as the culinary equivalent of the Olympic Games. Each team has 4 hours and 35 minutes to prepare two elaborate presentations, a meat dish and a fish dish. The jury that consists of renowned chef judges will make their evaluations based on the level of perfection, in terms of technical skills, cooking sophistication, creativity and visual beauty.
Photography of Mandarin Oriental is available to download, in high and low resolution, in the Photo Library of our Media section, at http://www.mandarinoriental.com/.

08 September 2009

2009 Sydney Culinary Challenge

This week WACS Junior is in Sydney for the 2009 Sydney Culinary Challenge we will be bringing you all the live action from the show and surrounding events.

Asian Culinary Cup Day 4

LIVE Vegetable, Ice Carving and Gourmet Team Challenge.






05 September 2009

Asian Culinary Cup - Day 3, Bangkok

Ice Carving
Today's Ice Carving saw the first of the team event of 3 people given 5 blocks of ice and 2 hours to complete their piece. Tomorrow, there will be 9 more teams competing in this area.


Bocuse d'or
8 competitors produced 3 courses for the judges to sample in modern French cuisine, paired with wine. This category is a showcase of the best hot cooking techniques from the competitors. The winner will compete in the Asian Final and the winner of that round will represent asia in Lyon, France next year. This is the world's most prestigious individual cooking competition.


Gourmet Team
Today was the second round for Gourmet Team, it was a continuation between South Korea, Malaysia & The Czech Republic.


Vegetable Carving
The first GOLD with DISTINCTION, along with 2 other GOLD medals were awarded to 3 Junior Taiwanese competitors for vegetable carving display:
Gold Medal with Distinction
Mr Yang Sheng Kai - 22 years old, presented 2 lizards catching a dragonfly.
Gold Medal:
Mr Ye Guo Zhen - 21 years old, presented a scene from the rainforest pond.
Mr Wei Shih Chieh - 26 years old, presented a mythical female figure with a Chinese lantern.


LIVE Plated Dessert
Open category LIVE plated dessert saw a large number of competitors producing some modern dessert ideas.

03 September 2009

WACS Asia Pacific Africa Forum

Day 2 at the Asian Culinary Cup

Today we witnessed a full day meeting of regional presidents from across Asia, the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East for the APA Forum.



Sitting in on the day's activities were members of the WACS Executive Committee, WACS President Gissur Gudmunsson, Vice-President Hilmar Jonsson and Secretary-General
Helgi Einarsson. Alongside them were members of the board, committees and invited guests.

Presentations from member countries were given alongside a report on Junior Chefs and the launch of the Dr Billy Gallagher Junior Chef programme for the WACS congress in Chile. On top of this, a special educational section on Thai Jasmin Rice and Thai Seafood.

The Forum attendees were treated to lunch at the Gormet Team Buffet event and then it was back to work for the afternoon session. By the end of the day, it was decided that the next APA Forum would be held in Korea in support of their preperation for the 2012 WACS Congress.

A copy of the Dr Billy Gallagher Junior Chef programme is now available for download by clicking on the link below:
http://www.2shared.com/file/7562715/f7f57e7a/Billy_Gallaher_Junior_Chefs_forum_2010_Prog_30Aug.html

Day ONE - Asia Culinary Cup

Day ONE of the Asia Culinary Cup, Bangkok 2009

Below you will find pictures of showpieces, vegetable carving, ice carving; along with some Hot Cooking action. There's also a sneak look at the Judge's dinner hosted by the Blue Elephant Restaurant.

Showpieces


Vegetable Carving


Ice Carving


Hot Kitchen


ACC Dinner


02 September 2009

Asia's 1st Culinary Cup - Opening Night

WACS President Gissur Gudmundsson and WACS Advisor for Junior Chef Global Development, Alan Orreal at the Opening Night of Asia's 1st Culinary Cup, Bangkok.
Friends & colleagues enjoying the evening...

One of the 16 International teams ready to face fierce competition ahead.

WACS President Gissur Gudmundsson & Continental Director John Sloane welcoming the Chinese Delegation.


The Taiwanese Team in high spirits ready for the next 4 days.

The Korean Junior Team catching a quick photo with Chef Alan Orreal.
Just a handful of the many international judges on hand & ready to execute a smooth and fair adjudication for all the competitors.

Parade of nations attending the first ever Asian Culinary Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

VIP guests & officials launching the official opening.

01 September 2009

Bangkok Culinary Cup

This evening will see the beginning of the 1st Asian Culinary Cup. WACS Junior will bring you all the action from each day so keep tuned to this site.

During this week, we will also cover the WACS APA Forum LIVE from the city of Angels, Bangkok.
There will be a special interview with the WACS President and the launch of the long-awaited Billy Gallagher Junior Chefs Forum programme for Chile 2010.