A report from the Vice president of WACS

Hello fellow members and colleagues of WACS. I hope everyone is having great success in all of the culinary endeavors we wake every day the chef’s coat is worn and we do what we so love to do cook and focus on cuisine.

In my kitchens there are signs that state the following;

“To be idle and not strive daily to be a great cook is a short road to culinary death. To be passionate & diligent with your craft is a cooks way of life; foolish cooks are idle, wise cooks are passionate & diligent”

It is a meaning for my cooks that when they walk in the kitchen they must be passionate and diligent about everything they are about to do with the ultimate goal of having excellent cuisine reach our customers.

In WACS the need to be passionate and diligent about all we do is more important than ever. The hard work of your directors and the presidium needs to be embraced with passion and diligence. At times our passion in the board room gets quite heavy but I know in everyone’s heart they have the best for WACS at hand and are striving to make the global culinary community a great one.

When I look at the many associations and federations in the world not just those of culinary one may always ask what do theses groups do for me?

Many members never see what has been done or accomplished they just see what remains to be done to make a federation better in their eyes and to see what value it has for the members they represent and at times for them individually.

It is good when one looks at the past to see what we had, then the present to see how far we have come and then the future to have vision and see what can be. If all members took interest and took part in the energy of what the group can be; then that group will flourish and no person will have to ask what does it do for me?

If members always ask what is in it for me without contributing and adding value themselves to the group then the group remains unchanged and always in question.
WACS will give to you what you in return give to WACS as with most things in life.

Education is the foundation of every organization you look at. Whether a doctors group, craftsmen group, or a culinary group education needs to be the sole purpose and foundation of the group.

Providing resources and a knowledge for those who seek it while offering the opportunity for each and every member to become more knowledgeable at what they do and to become better in their respective profession is a must for any federation or association. WACS has been working hard to do this and start the process of offering education. Our first item is certification. Certifying ones skill level does many things it enables the person taking on this endeavor to learn and become better at their craft. Once the certification is accomplished a sense of pride and accomplishment flourish which creates great energy and that passes on to others. The start of this exciting program is as follows;

WACS Global Certification
Managed by the WACS education Committee &
Administrated by the American Culinary Federation
Implementation outline,

Phase one
The implementation test countries;
Scotland
Ireland
South Africa
India
Australia
Singapore

Question review, started on 20/09/2006
The exam questions were submitted to each of the listed countries for review and comment regarding content and relevance of questions as well as terminology.
The feedback wanted in a general sense for the standards should be given as globally significant. Identifying which standards are expected to be learned or considered as common knowledge in relation to the level of WACS certification is due the end of October. Once the review and rewrite of the questions are accomplished, we will turn them over to the online testing agency which will need approximately 30-45 days to be up and running to test our global WACS candidates.

Candidate recommendation to be sent by 10/11/2006
Each of the implementation countries are expected to recommend 12 candidates for the initial testing phase. Their application, which can be filed on line with the American Culinary Federation, shall be required along with a resume/curriculum vitae and proof of their career education. Once the package is received by ACF, the candidate will be evaluated and approved or declined. Provided they are approved the candidate will be notified of their scheduled date for testing which will include sufficient time to study in the interim.


Testing site recommendation to be sent to ACF by 10/11/2006
Each of the implementation countries will need to identify the sites available for each candidate to be tested in their respected countries and regions. The test must be administered in a fully proctored environment and follow the prescribed time guidelines. All that is required otherwise is high speed internet access and a computer for the candidate.

Summary for Phase One
Once the candidates are selected and the test sites are scheduled with those candidates, the first official testing for WACS certification will commence in January.
The education committee and ACF shall then start the evaluation of the process, addressing any inconsistencies and reviewing feedback. We then would make the certification available for the five test counties to all its WACS members by the spring of 2007 as a final run to see the results is all areas concerning the certitification.

Phase two starting in 2007
Develop a PR/marketing plan in conjunction with continental directors which should market to industry and public alike. It is important to generate a public awareness and demand from the get-go in order to instill a need to be certified at all. Ask Continental directors to begin to invite a small number of candidates from each of the implementation countries resulting in a “soft opening” of the program.

Phase Three
WACS certitification and testing available to all of WACS member countries after the 2008 Congress. The program and the results to date would be presented at the Congress.

The mission statement of the education committee is;

“The WACS Education Committee will facilitate programs of excellence that broaden skills and knowledge in the global community of chefs aimed at building a skilled future”

This will be achieved by:
Designing and presenting best practice programs
Identifying the most effective methods of delivery
Develop appropriate resources and curriculums
Identify funding models
Coordinating the delivery of programs
Evaluating, continuously developing, and broadening the scope of programs


There has been much talk about the train the trainer program. The education committee has adapted a new approach called WACS continuing Education. We believe that having the ability to offer to member’s education on all levels is a priority in meeting the member’s needs as well as WACS being of value.

We have a Needs Analysis survey that will be sent to all WACS county member presidents to be filled out and returned to us. This survey that we hope all seventy plus counties fill out shall give us the information needed to see what the priorities are in providing continuing education to the members of WACS.

It is our goal to have to develop and initiate programs for the members of WACS as needed and requested. This may include a train the trainer series, it could consist of:
On-line education from the WACS website with demonstrations, lectures and access to recipes, training materials and such.

We realize that though culinary competitions play a big role in WACS that in the day to day life of many cook’s basic skills, new concepts of cuisine and new trends are just as important.

We do not have all the answers but will do our best to provide a resource for you the members of WACS to turn to when you need help, have a question or just want to keep advancing the skill of your craft as a cook and chef.

We have a conference call the en of October to measure our progress and to ensure the certification is off to a good start. We hope to meet in the early part of 2007 to make our visions for you a reality. The 2008 congress will be full of good news from the education committee as we work hard to be the foundation of WACS. Even when one becomes a teacher they are still students of the craft called cookery.

Learning and sharing, working together to be better at what we do is a benefit for all cooks and chefs around the globe.

In the end there are no secrets to culinary success or to becoming a top chef and great cook. It is the result of preparation, continuing education, hard work, sacrifice, many hours, and learning from your failures while never giving up.

The same can be said for making WACS a great federation for the global chef community. With each and every one of us practicing the above we can all make WACS a great culinary success.

Have a flavorful day;

Chef Edward G Leonard, CMC
Vice President of WACS
Education Committee Chair

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Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers is proud to be one of the first five-star hotels to achieve this HACCP certification in Asia Pacific. Conducted by BSI Management Systems, one of the leading certification bodies in the world, the accreditation was completed in September, 2006.

The recent outbreaks of food crisis, such as Chicken Flu, Mad Cow Disease, Sudan Red in sauces and condiments, Malachite Green in Fish…etc, food safety has become everyone’s concern. At Sheraton, we care about that and have implemented a system called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) to minimize and reduce the chances of food borne illness to our customers and associates who are dining at the Sheraton Hong Kong’s establishments.

What is HACCP

HACCP is a world recognized, systematic and preventative approach that addresses microbial, chemical and physical hazards by anticipating and preventing incidents before they occur.

The HACCP concept, developed by NASA in the 1960’s for space missions to prevent astronauts from contracting a food borne illness, is a step-by-step approach to the identification of food safety hazards and risks associated with each step of the process. This includes purchasing, receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, food display, transportation (in room dining) and washing up.

There are seven principles of HACCP, they are as follows:
- 1./ Conduct a hazard analysis. Potential hazards associated with a food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could be biological, such as microbial; chemical, such as a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments.
2./ Identify critical control points. These are points in the production/preparation of food – from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the consumer – at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detection.
3./ Develop critical limits. For a cooked food, for example, this might including setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
4./ Develop monitoring procedures. Such procedures might include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored.
5./ Develop corrective actions. For example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met.
6./ Develop suitable record keeping. For example, testing time-and-temperature recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
7./ Develop verification procedures. This would include records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring of safety requirements and action taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be backed by sound scientific knowledge: for example: published microbiological studies on time and temperature factors for controlling food borne pathogens.

Hotel’s commitment to food safety

The HACCP certification process takes approximately twelve months and involves substantial training and implementation of HACCP policies and procedures including systematic documentation, analysis and process verification.

To ensure consistent compliance to these standards, third party audits are conducted by BSI Management Systems twice a year. This high level of compliance can only be achieved if emphasis is placed on building a hygiene culture. Management commitment and involvement is a must, since food safety can risk being neglected due to the costs and the amount of paper work involved, and the need for consistently monitoring the food handling activities.

The successful accomplishment of HACCP at the hotel has signalled a shift in emphasis from resource-intensive product inspection and testing to prevention control of hazards at all stages of the food production. This is considered a cutting edge tool of management to serve the best quality of food for our guests.

The last day in competition at Luxembourg was exiting for every team, some of the big countries in the world had got gold both in hot and cold and now everyone was waiting for the final scores from the last day, but no one know anything before at the closing ceremony on Thursday morning, about 5 teams are compete about the over all price.

I had the pleasure to have dinner on Wednesday with the military team from Sweden and Team Milko the Swedish girl team, Team Milko is the only culinary girl team in the world, the dinner was at Lea Linsted restaurant and we got a warm welcome, it was a pleasure night with the team end se the spirit they have, the girls got silver for there work as a regional team from Sweden and the military team got two gold.

At the closing ceremony I talk to Euda Morales from Guatemala, she has been hear for 5 days to se how thing goes in the competition like this, she has a dream to see Guatemala team coming to Ika in Erfurt in 2008. She can see that this competitions have a different standard from what is happening in South and Middle America and that is an important for teams coming from this part of the world to see first what is happening in a competition like this.

At the closing ceremony Armand Steinmetz thanks everyone for the great days we have had together and welcome all again in 2010 to ExpoGast. It has been hard days for the chefs from Vatel Clup in Luxembourg but it has paid of, guests and teams are happy and pleased for the welcome they have got in Luxembourg.

Reinhold Metz continental director of Europe Central thank the Vatel Clup for their work on behalf of the WACS board and all the teams for the great effort they have put in to the culinary work.

The ceremony is now over and the final scores are like this:

National Team
1st - Norway
2nd - Sweden
3rd - Singapore
Junior Team
1st - Switzerland
2nd - Germany
3rd - Italy
Military Team
1st - Switzerland
2nd - United Kingdom
3rd - Germany

This is my last mail from Luxembourg and I like to thank my friends from Iceland, Jon Svavarsson and Gudjon Steinsson that have take over 6000 pictures and work hard sending pictures to WACS everyday, we hope that this will give chefs around the world opportunity to see what have been happening here. Big thanks to Vatel Clup for giving us a space to have the booth at the show and the Bank Kaupthing for loan us TV and computer so we could show the WACS website to chefs everyday. I like to say thank to the website team from Singapore for the great work you have done for WACS, without your help we will not have the possibility to present us like we have done for the last days.

With regards from Luxembourg

Gissur Gudmundsson

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Scores from the last day.

Norway in Hot got Gold

Sweden in Hot got Gold

Slovenia in Hot got Bronze

Switserland in Hot got Gold

Malta compete only in Hot kitchen, not cold and they got Bronze

Military team in Hot

Franc, Silver

Germany, gold

Juniors team in hot

Czech, silver

Luxembourg, bronze

Based on the outstanding 22-year success of their three-year In-Service Apprenticeship Programme, HTA has designed a professional cookery training programme to meet the need to assist core staff to achieve a qualification in a shorter period of time. The 1-year HTA programme will allow your cooks to learn while working; with only a 2-day Block Release module per month, over 12 months. The course covers all theoretical and practical components necessary to achieve a recognised Certificate in Food Preparation & Culinary Art.

To register your staff on this programme contact Liezl van Tonder on (011) 285-0937

On the 1st of October 2006 I accepted the position of Resort Executive Chef at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate. I have always known that my career would somehow be involved with food. From a very early age, my family have been guinea pigs for my "creations" Whilst in high school, when ever there was a performer or musician doing a show at our Local High School (the town only had one in Lydenburg), I would stay home to prepare dinner for them and the whole family, as the school always put them up in my Mom’s House.

Food has always been a central role in my life. My grandmother used to cater all the golf days and church functions and my Mom has owned two restaurants. She currently owns the only 5 star guest house in the Witbank/Middelburg area, so high standards have always come naturally to me. I believe in keeping things simple and allowing the natural flavors of food to come out. So many people make the mistake of taking, for example, a beautiful piece of fresh fish and adding all kinds of rubbish spices and heavy sauces to it. Keeping it fresh and simple, with clean lines is what I am all about

After returning from 2 and a half years in London, I joined Fancourt in November 2000 as a sous chef. Fancourt has 17 kitchens, ranging from a rugby field size banqueting main kitchen to small half way house kitchens. The resort employs more than 600 permanent employees and in excess of 75 chefs. I started running our fine dining restaurant Bramble Lodge and a highlight was opening up from scratch, our hugely popular and award winning african themed restaurant, Zanzibar. I was also heavily involved in the re-opening of our seafood restaurant Le Pecheur, with a full sushi bar. In November 2003 I was promoted to Exec Sous Chef. I actually left Fancourt in January of 2006 and was asked back to accept the Executive Chef position. A recent highlight was our annual fancourt Ball for 380 high profile guests. Fancourt is owned by German billionaire and previous SAP Chairman and his wife, Dr Hasso and Mrs Sabine Plattner. They fully carry the cost every year of putting on this spectacular in aid of George Child Welfare. This year we raised R1,75 million It was really fantastic to get a rating of 9 out of ten for the food, from the notoriously difficult to please, Gwen Gill. For this function we flew in 20kg of fresh foie grass, 40 kg of fresh diver scallops and 1 kg of fresh black truffles from France. The cost to us per head was just under R500.00 per person.

I love playing golf when I get the chance and I am in the right place as we have four of the best golf courses in the world, right here on one estate. I also love fishing and spending time in nature with my two dogs, London and Paris-who is a completely blind Pekingnese, but the love of my life. Fancourt to me, is the centre of the universe. It is the most beautiful resort I have ever seen and to be in the nicest surroundings in the world, just never gets tired. Fancourt recently won the "Best Resort in the world" award and is the standard that others follow.

Dear WACS Colleagues,


Now that Day 4 of Expogast is coming to an end, everyone is getting exiting for the overall prize. Clearly, a few countries are in the front but tomorrow (Wednesday, 22 November) will give the final overall winner. The competitions have gone well; teams have performed well both in Hot and Cold competitions showing great high standard international food that every chef can be proud of. All this is part of the great work WACS has been working on for the past year. The Vatel Clup in Luxembourg has done a great job for both judges and competitors.

I just talked to Kurt Weid who is judging in the hot kitchen, I asked him how the level of this competition was and his reply was that the level was high, all the top teams around the world was here and this was without any question the crème de la creme, and its clear the big competition for everyone is going to be Ika in Erfurt 2008.

Kurt says at the same time that the organizing of this competition is good, the kitchen is of high standard, teams are happy with their working areas in hotels and restaurant around the Luxembourg, all this makes teams get better performance in the work they do.

Kjetil Gundersen is judging in regional cold tables and his opinion of the standard is that he is impressed, he is surprised of the performance of some of the teams that have not represented their countries before but still he can see that some countries need to put more thinking into the work, but the final conclusion for one of the youngest judge is that everyone is doing international standard food at a high level.

I also talked to Geoffrey Acott who is judging the military hot kitchen, he say the kitchen is definitely the best military kitchen he has been judging in, they are modern with all the right equipment needed in today’s kitchens. The teams are making food that is in line with the national restaurant in nations and its nice to see this happen, it shows the ego and quality of the chefs working in the field. At the same time having the national team and the military team working so nice and close together is that military team are learning a lot from the national teams and we hope that national team will learn from the hard work our chefs work in.

With regards from Luxembourg,
Gissur Gudmundsson

Dear WACS colleagues,
Yesterday we had the opening ceremony of Expogast 2006; it was nice show and presentation of the teams followed with some beverages and food.

Today the show is opening and WACS booth is ready, this is the first time WACS has a taken part in an International show like this where we have a booth to present WACS. We are happy that one of the big Icelandic banks in Luxembourg named Kaupthing has loaned us a big plasma TV screen and computer so we can show the WACS website to chefs from all over the world.

The first day the national team from Netherlands, Israel, Hungary and Scotland had the cold buffet and the jury was judging from 10:00 to 13:00. In the hot kitchen than we had Portugal, Malaysia, Belarus and Singapore, its nice to see new member countries like Belarus in the competition, this is their first international competition and we wish them good luck.

The first day is like a family reunion, lot of colleagues from all over the world are meeting each other again and making new friends. This is what WACS and competitions is all about.

Regards
Gissur

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Below is the results for Day 1 at glance:
Military Team (Cold)
Hungary - Silver
Luxembourg - Bronze

Juniors Team (Cold)
Israel - Silver
Portugal - Bronze

National Team (Cold)
Netherland - Silver
Scotland - Silver
Hungary - Silver
Israel - Bronze

For more news and photos gallery, please visit the link HERE.

Dishwashers are the way to go if you comply with two simple criteria. “Run a dishwasher only when it’s full, and don’t rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.” So says John Morril of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, who also advises not using the dry cycle. The water used in most dishwashers is hot enough, he says, to evaporate quickly if the door is left open after the wash and rinse cycles are complete.

Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany who studied the issue found that the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also found that dishwashers excelled in cleanliness over hand washing.

Most dishwashers manufactured since 1994 use seven to 10 gallons of water per cycle, while older machines use eight to 15 gallons. Newer designs have also improved dishwasher efficiency immensely. Hot water can now be heated in the dishwasher itself, not in the household hot water heater, where heat gets lost in transit. Dishwashers also heat only as much water as needed. A standard 24-inch-wide household dishwasher is designed to hold eight place settings, but some newer models will wash the same amount of dishes inside an 18-inch frame, using less water in the process. If you have an older, less-efficient machine, the Council recommends hand washing for the smaller jobs and saving the dishwasher for the dinner party’s aftermath.

New dishwashers that meet strict energy and water-saving efficiency standards can qualify for an Energy Star label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Besides being more efficient and getting the dishes cleaner, qualifying newer models will save the average household about $25 per year in energy costs.

Like John Morril, the EPA recommends always running your dishwasher with a full load and avoiding the inefficient heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features found on many recent models. Most of the appliance’s energy used goes to heat the water, and most models use just as much water for smaller loads as for larger ones. And propping the door open after the final rinse is quite adequate for drying the dishes when the washing is done.

Florence Luk from Jebsen Wines is looking for a few Innovative Australian Chefs to create new cooking ideas with their new to launch wine brand, please contact Florence directly at florenceluk@jebsen.com

POST RELEASE

The International Exhibition "PIR. Hospitality Industry", held on October 4-7 2006, was a major event in the food and hospitality industry of Russia. Moscow gathered world leaders of the gastronomic, restaurant and hotel business to demonstrate professional skills and share experience.

"PIR. Hospitality Industry" is the most large-scale and popular event in the food industry and restaurant business. In 2006 it gathered over 38 000 visitors from Moscow, Russian regions, CIS and overseas countries. Over 450 companies from more than 25 countries of the world have presented a full range of their products and services designed for restaurant and hotel business.

This year the exhibition was visited by some of the most powerful people in Russia, which proves the exposition’s vital importance for the development of the whole region. Among the honourable guests one could see Head of the Public Catering General Office with the President Administration of the Russian Federation, Head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and many others.

The PIR project has already had nine editions and has won popular love and respect. Next year the "PIR. Hospitality Industry" exhibition will mark its tenth anniversary!

To learn more, click here

Wednesday, 18 of October was an important day for Finnish chefs. Representatives of The Finnish Chef Association were invited to meet Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and the Government of Finland.

During their visit Finnish chefs Jaakko Nuutila, Jaakko Kolmonen, Martti Lehtinen, Sirkka Ruottinen, Esa Anttila, Jyrki Vaajo and Juha Vuorenmaa prepared a delicious meal and presented Finnish Food culture and Associations future visions.

The purpose was to obtain A Government grant to promote the positive image of the Finnish Food chain in Finland and abroad.

WELSH CHEFS ’FANTASTIC AMBASSADORS’ SAYS FIRST MINISTER

Immediate: November 10, 2006

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has described the Welsh National Culinary Team as "fantastic ambassadors" for Wales and the nation’s world class food.

He was speaking at a special reception held at the Senedd in Cardiff to wish the team success in the prestigious Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, which begins next week.

Mr Morgan said Welsh food had been transformed in the last five years due to a combination of the culinary skills of Welsh chefs and outstanding ingredients from Wales.

"Welsh food has really taken off and it is down to you in the way that you prepare and present the food," he told the chefs. "You have been really fantastic ambassadors. You will be carrying the Welsh flag in Luxembourg and I know that you are going to do well."

Presiding officer Lord Elis Thomas thanked the team for making itself available for Royal visits, various opening ceremonies and events of all kinds organised by the Welsh Assembly.

"The Welsh National Culinary Team and the National Assembly for Wales make a fine team," he said. "I would also like to thank the chefs for raising the standard of the hospitality industry and food in Wales."

The reception was hosted by Janet Ryder, Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for North Wales, who said: "We have high class chefs working with high class food in Wales and they are helping to sell the nation to the world. It’s very important that the Welsh Assembly gets behind the team and every venture that sells Wales on the international stage."

Team manager Graham Tinsley, co-owner of The Castle Hotel, Conwy and Nant Hall, Prestatyn, thanked Mrs Ryder for organising the reception and Assembly Members for attending. "Without your support we couldn’t carry the Welsh flag in Luxembourg," he said.

Currently ranked seventh in the world, the Welsh chefs are hoping to repeat the gold medal success they recorded at the Culinary World Cup four years ago in their first major competition as a national team.

Like the soccer and rugby World Cups, this competition is held every four years and it’s second only in prestige to the Culinary Olympics. The Welsh team competes in the hot kitchen competition on Saturday, November 18, serving up 120 covers to diners.

The second part of the competition is a cold buffet table on Tuesday, November 21, which involves creating a variety of culinary art display dishes around a central theme.

Mr Tinsley said there was a nice blend of experience and youth in the Welsh team selected for the Culinary World Cup and the mission was to bring back gold medals and improve the team’s world ranking.

"Mix a pancake, stir a pancake, pop it in the pan. Fry the pancake, toss the pancake, catch it if you can." - Christina Rossetti

What a success this past weekend was! South African Chefs Association members have now enjoyed the third International Chefs Day since the commemorative day was initiated by the World Association of Chefs Association (WACS) in 2003. Celebrated around the world by all the WACS member countries, most countries use the day as an opportunity to get together and have some fun but, more importantly, to get involved in a social responsibility initiative in their communities. This year, the South African Chefs Association, together with it's family of sponsors, raised over R50 000 for the Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa, or CHOC (Children's Haematology Oncology Clinics), created a day that will forever fill their memories - while also baking over 10 000 pancakes for our World Record attempt!

Sugar 'n Spice and all things nice!

For the past two years, chefs from all over the world, proudly wearing their chefs' jacket and hat, have come together on 20 October to celebrate International Chefs Day. A day of celebration, initiated by Dr. Bill Gallagher (Honorary Life President of WACS and Honorary President of the South African Chefs Association), International Chefs Day has seen thousands of chefs representing the member countries of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) come together in a drive to have some fun but, more importantly, to get involved in social responsibility initiatives in their communities.

On Friday, 20 October SACA's team of internationally renowned chefs immersed themselves in the serious business of raising a serious amount of money for this worthy cause at "The Shake 'n Bake for CHOC" at Clearwater Mall in Ruimsig, Roodepoort. Hundred's of volunteers, chefs and celebrities got together to bake thousands of pancakes, handing them out to passers-by in return for a small donation. Returning the next day, bright and early at 08:00, the volunteers again raised money for CHOC in the same way, this time also attempted to set the Guinness World Record for the most amount of pancakes baked in a 12-hour period, using 1000 litres of pre-mixed pancake batter! There was a lot to eat and see, pancake competitions, with lots of great prizes, and foodie fun for all. Even Heinz Winckler and his gorgeous new wife, Wackhead Simpson from Highveld fame and a few local soap stars joined in the fun, upping the total number of pancakes made on the day to over 10 000!

"Our aim was to raise R50 000 towards making the lives of CHOC's children a little easier through proceeds raised by public donations in return for delicious pancakes," says Dr. Bill Gallagher. "And we did it! We are very privileged as chefs to be able to do our bit for the needy in the community - and we will continue to do so for as long as we receive the valued support of our generous sponsors and the industry in general."

A heart-felt thank you Checkers, Tiger Brands, Clearwater Mall, HTA School of Culinary Art - and to all the other generous sponsors, chefs and volunteers who made the event possible, the event would not have been as successful without your dedication, enthusiasm, hard-work and commitment.

Did we get the Record? Well, that still remains to be seen. For more information, or to be kept updated on whether or not South Africa will in fact be awarded the Guiness World Record please contact Suzanne Saunders at the South African Chefs Association on 011 482 7250.

…ends

SA's award-winning National Culinary Team share a day of fun in the sun with CHOC children

For International Chefs Day this year, the South African Chefs Association, in association with its generous sponsors created a day that will fill the memories of the children of the Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa. Better known as CHOC (Children's Haematology Oncology Clinics), the foundation's mission is to contribute to the wellbeing of children with cancer and life-threatening blood disorders, and their families.

CHOColate covered dreams

South Africa's award-winning National Culinary Team (Team SA) dedicated this year's International Chefs Day to creating a memorable day for the children of CHOC. The children were bussed in from various hospitals to spend a fun-filled morning at Emmerentia Dam. The chefs ensured that the children forget their troubles and spent their morning experiencing the joy of being a child. They were entertained by face-painters, jumping castles and even a close encounter with unusual animals, through a project called "Farm/Zoo to you".

There were thrills and spills as the Lions u/19 Rugby Team took on the South African National Culinary Team in an enjoyable game of touch rugby - no prizes for guessing who won! And after all that action, the raging appetites and empty little tummies, were taken care of with a delicious picnic lunch and other goodies generously provided by the South African Chefs Association's sponsors, Nandos Chickenland and Unilever Foodsolutions and Rich's.

"While we hope that the children had a truly memorable day, it was through the fundraising "Shake 'n Bake for CHOC" World Record pancake baking attempt at Clearwater Mall the next day that we left a lasting legacy for children affected by Cancer," says Garth Shnier, international competitions director of the South African Chefs Association, Team SA manager and the heart behind the fun day event.

"This is the first time that a National Culinary Team of any country has become involved in something like this, it is a cause that is very close to our team member's hearts and we are proud to be able to do something for these children. To our minds, children are a gift and those unfortunate enough to be afflicted with this dreadful disease deserve to be given a chance - a chance to dream, a chance to fight and a chance to live", Garth concludes.

Why CHOC?

The incidence of childhood cancer is about 1 in every 600 children, but in South Africa it is estimated that in South Africa only half the children are diagnosed and reach a treatment centre in time. In less developed countries this situation is worse, with only a very small number of children receiving effective treatment for Childhood Cancer. One major reason for this is that, if the disease is diagnosed at all, it is frequently at such a late stage as to make the prognosis for successful treatment very poor. In some of the communities, there may be over 80% of children diagnosed with tumors in the late stages, compared with some 15% in developed countries. These late-diagnosed children have a much poorer chance of being treated successfully, whereas if they are diagnosed early and treated correctly, the majority of children (around 70%) can be cured.

The situation in South Africa is, thankfully, not as bad. Here, there are several excellent state-funded treatment centres, which use internationally accepted protocols, and achieve results comparable to hospitals in North America and Europe for similar stages of diagnosis of the illness. While, thankfully, the cost of treatment does not sit on the shoulders of the families, the process is nonetheless long, difficult and very arduous. It can however be made slightly easier if a parent can stay with the child during the many months of treatment, which usually involves chemotherapy, but can also include radiation therapy and surgery. This is where CHOC steps in. Depending entirely on the support of donors, sponsors and patrons, CHOC, with regional divisions in Johannesburg, Pretoria, the Western Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal, provide direct accommodation, transport, and ward comforts, as well as other practical and financial help to children with cancer, from diagnosis onwards, recognising the inevitable disruption to family life when a child faces vigorous and often lengthy treatment.

This is just the first in a long line of activities the National Culinary Team have planned to make the lives of the CHOC children easier, which will all culminate in a gala dinner planned to take place early in 2007. For more information please contact the South African Chefs Association on 011 482 7250.

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POST RELEASE

The International Exhibition "PIR. Hospitality Industry", held on October 4-7 2006, was a major event in the food and hospitality industry of Russia. Moscow gathered world leaders of the gastronomic, restaurant and hotel business to demonstrate professional skills and share experience.

"PIR. Hospitality Industry" is the most large-scale and popular event in the food industry and restaurant business. In 2006 it gathered over 38 000 visitors from Moscow, Russian regions, CIS and overseas countries. Over 450 companies from more than 25 countries of the world have presented a full range of their products and services designed for restaurant and hotel business.

This year the exhibition was visited by some of the most powerful people in Russia, which proves the exposition’s vital importance for the development of the whole region. Among the honourable guests one could see Head of the Public Catering General Office with the President Administration of the Russian Federation, Head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and many others.

The PIR project has already had nine editions and has won popular love and respect. Next year the "PIR. Hospitality Industry" exhibition will mark its tenth anniversary!

To learn more, click here