26 June 2010

Fonterra foodservices Pastry Challenge 2010 Hong Kong & Macou

Announcing the Official Founding of the Young Chefs Club and the Chinese Chefs Club


14-06-2010

It is with great pleasure that we announce the official founding of the

Young Chefs Club
and the
Chinese Chefs Club
on the 25th of May 2010


The turnout for the ceremony was overwhelming, with more than 400 guests from the Industry, Press, TV and of course, the very large number of Chefs with representatives from various provinces in Vietnam and even from Cambodia.

We had the honour to welcome

Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association (HTA)
Ms. Angela Dickey
Acting U.S. Consul General, Ho Chi Minh City
Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association (HTA)
Mr. Nguyen Chi Vien
Representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture,
Sports and Tourism
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang
Secretary of Saigon Tourist Company
Mr Huynh Van Qui
General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association (HTA)

With the launch of these new clubs, the committee has our work cut out for us. We have received a large list of topics which both clubs would like to be trained in.

To my greatest satisfaction, the first topic on the list is Food Safety and Hygiene. On this subject, Mdm Bui Thi Suong will be conducting a training session in June for the Young Chefs. Ms. Margaret Say from the USAPEEC has confirmed that she will sponsor more in-depth trainings for the Young Chefs and the Chinese Chefs on the same topic with a lecturer from Singapore.

The second topic is product knowledge. Beside members of the SPC committee, our long time supporter Fonterra has confirmed that they will hold trainings on dairy products. Interflour Vietnam has confirmed training on flour and flour products and Rich’s have confirmed training on non-dairy creams. Puratos will be giving demonstrations on bread making. MLA and USMEF have also confirmed their support.

Should there be any individual or company interested to contribute to the training of our chefs, please contact the undersigned, the SPC office or any of the SPC committee members.

We are very much looking forward to list you as a volunteer for this extremely important task.

With Culinary regards
Norbert

SJCC goes off island in the name of food waste reduction

Pulau Semakau Educational Trip Writeup

On a recent Sunday, the Singapore Junior Chefs Club organized an educational fieldtrip to Pulau Semakau, the world’s first of its kind offshore landfill. The purpose of the visit was to educate members on wastage in particularly food wastage and the importance of being responsible with Food. A total of 50 members attended the fieldtrip, alongside members of the SJCC committee. The trip started off with a 40 minutes ferry ride to the island, south of Singapore. The members were full of excitement on the Sun-deck of the ferry, some of whom were sitting a ferry for the first time in their life.

When asked about why SJCC decided to organize such a trip for its members, SJCC President Jasper Jek replied “What better way to allow members to learn about Food Wastage and its effects on the environment, than for them to visit the landfill and to see for themselves what happens to the food they waste in their kitchens and restaurants when they dispose them off. Chefs take a huge responsibility for the food they order, they produce and its wastage. This out of the kitchen trip will deeply impact our members, and what they learn will stay with them a long way into their career. As SJCC envisions nurturing future talents in the Food and Beverage field, reputed for their character, it will be good to have such a trip. Furthermore, it goes in line with what was presented in WACS Congress 2010 in Chile on Reducing Food Wasting.”

Upon arrival on the Pulau Semakau, the members were brought into the Visitors Centre, where they were presented a video about the landfill. Thereafter the guide briefed them about how the Landfill came about, the need for Singapore to have such a landfill and other aspects of the landfill. They were also taught about the process of what happens when things go into the rubbish bins. The members were surprised to learn that in 2009’s festive period, a total of 187 tons of food was wasted, and that when food waste is not treated properly, it gives off methane which is harmful to the environment. Members were also taught on the 3Rs: Recycle, Reuse and Reduce, and ways to reduce food wastage in the kitchen, e.g. using old bread to make bread and butter pudding.

After the presentation, members were brought onto mini shuttle buses to tour the landfill. The guide gave detailed explanation of the operation process which takes place on each location. The government has made efforts to make the island more recreation friendly by incorporating scenic locations for mangrove intertidal walks, bird watching, sports fishing, star gazing and others. The beautiful scenery of the offshore landfill gave members another impression of landfills.

In conclusion, we believe the fun and educational fieldtrip deeply benefited the young chefs and SJCC will continue to introduce ways to guide young chefs in the right path. We would like to specially thank Nestle Professional for their kind support and sponsorship for this fieldtrip, and making it possible!

More information on Pulau Semakau Landfill can be found on:

www.nea.gov.sg/cms/esd/brochure/TMTS.pdf

16 June 2010

Bocuse D’or Asia In Shanghai



By Federico Michieletto:
In this Note I will like to congratulate my team Malaysia with  Chef See Lay Na , Commis Chef Gho Mio Di  Mandy , and Coach Marcel Kofler, with support of Chef David King and Chef Riccardo Ferrarotti  for winning the Bocuse D’or Asia In Shanghai .   
Attach our Menu and Philosophy to share with you all .

I will like also to extend the congratulation to  the following teams :
2nd Place: China
3rd Place: Japan
4th Place: Indonesia & best Commis prize winner

All above teams will proceed to Lyon 2011 Bocuse D’or in January next year .