Unilever has agreed to be a sponsor for Forum for Women in WACS that is to be held in Dubai in 2008. The money will be used to help fund speakers as well as seven participants to attend and speak at the Dubai congress.

The sponsorship makes Unilever the exclusive and official sponsor of the forum. In honor of the sponsorship, the forum will be renamed the Unilever Forum for Women in WACS.

The Forum for Women in WACS aims to help female chefs advance their careers and balance their careers with family lives. The programme will consist of four components: women in foodservice panel discussion, workshop on developing personal vision statements, a session with speeches by three female foodservice industry speakers and a speech by a hospitality or foodservice industry leader in the general session.

The premier culinary competition in Wales will again have a truly international flavour next month. The Welsh National Culinary Team will go head to head with Cyprus and Canada in the Battle for the Dragon contest at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, RhosonSea from February 20 to 22.

The three countries will do battle in a hot kitchen competition, each being allocated three hours to produce a mouthwatering three course meal for 90 people under the supervision of a panel of international judges. Wales will start off the competition on February 20, followed by Cyprus on the 21st and Canada on the 22nd. The team with the highest points will win a specially commissioned Dragon Trophy. The results will be announced at a gala dinner at the Imperial Hotel, Llandudno on February 22.

The contest was introduced for the first time last year and was won by Germany, who held off a strong challenge from Wales and France. The Welsh International Culinary Championships are organised by the Welsh Culinary Association (WCA) and are sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The prestigious Junior Chef of Wales Final will also being held during the championships on the February 20th. WCA chairman Peter Jackson said he was delighted that Canada and Cyprus had agreed to send teams to the competition, which was helping to raise the profile of Wales, its food and culinary skills.

Dear All,
11th Battle of the Chefs was officially launched by YB Teng with a simple unveiling of the competition brochures.

Thank you to YB Teng.

Best Culinary Regards
Peter Chan PJM
Hon-Secretary

90 years old Eleni Ieronymaki, got a gold medal in the 6th Mediterranean Culinary Contest in Crete, Greece.

The city itself is divided between Europe and Asia and it gathers influences from its proximity to Northern Africa and the Middle-East. A mosaic of history, cultures and mystery, Istanbul is a wonderful setting for an international competition. The judging of an international competition such as this can also seem quite mystical.

Twenty-five high-calibre international judges have been invited to the Istanbul Gastronomy Festival, taking them away from their already busy lives in work and family, and travelling, sometimes over twenty-four hours, to Istanbul for five intense and long days of non-stop competitions to judge. Most will never even see the wonderful citadel around them but will most likely get rather acquainted with the competition floor and the hotel staff.

So what brings them to a competition like this one then? The Istanbul Gastronomy Festival certainly does not have the glamour or recognition in the world like the Bocuse d’Or in Lyon or the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt. The competing chefs are unknown on the international scene and for most, it is their first competition. The judges task is not always an easy one either yet, you can see them pacing the floor calmly, elegantly but authoritatively, poker-faced, taking detailed notes, taking time to carefully evaluate each and every dish, tasting reflectively; they take things quite seriously and do a very professional job.

If you ask most judges why they do it, most will simply answer “To help them out”. They take part in these kinds of low profile competitions not only to help the competitors gain new knowledge and advance in their work but also to help the organizers of the competitions to understand international competition standards better in the hopes of achieving greater recognition in the future.

The need for good international judges in events such as the Istanbul Gastronomy Festival lies in the need for balance and advancement of cuisine. Having judges from different areas of the world assures a diversity in opinion and taste for the food itself but their experience and knowledge promise a sensitive judgement to quality, no matter the shape or taste.

There is room for improvement in any competition setting, and the Istanbul Gastronomy Festival is not excluded, but just as Istanbul was not built in a day, a high standard chef competition takes time to form. Just as the city that hosts it, what makes the Istanbul Gastronomy Festival a good one is not necessarily what it is now, but more what it thrives to become. That is why well known chefs from around the world come to support and help in this event, because, although there is no glory, fame or fortune for international judges, they share a faith in something more profound with the organizers and the competitors: a passion to make the culinary world evolve and a belief that passion makes everything possible.

Catherine Bergerion

For and on behalf of

Gissur Gudmundsson

President of the Nordic Chefs Association

WACS Continental Director of the Northern Europe

 
For the first time since its creation, the Bocuse d’Or will introduce European selections, to be held at Stavanger, Norway, on 1st and 2nd of July 2008. The event will take place in the wake of the Copa Azteca, that was held in Mexico in 2005. The objective is clear: to open the contest to new countries, offering even more emulation.

"Bocuse d’Or Europe" for 2008
Bocuse d’Or Europe, the new continental pre-selection event, will offer a foretaste, in 2008, of the famous international contest and will serve to select some of the entrants for the 2009 edition of the Bocuse d’Or. The event will bring together approximately twenty countries from continental Europe. Among these, some candidate countries will already have earned the right to participate in the finals to be held in 2009 (the six first on the Bocuse d’Or 2007 ranking will automatically be accepted for participation in 2009) and will be competing on a friendly basis, for the sporting spirit. The other nations will be competing for the right to compete in Lyon in 2009 and will include both regular contestants as well as new countries that have never participated before.

Summer of 2008 in Stavanger, Norway
The first Bocuse d’Or Europe will take place on July 1st and 2nd, 2008. Stavanger, gastronomic capital of Norway, also the European cultural capital in 2008, was chosen by the International Organising Committee to host the pre-selection event. The contest will be organised by SepelCom, in partnership with the Norwegian Bocuse d’Or Academy, that has been successfully supervising the selection and preparation of the Norwegian candidates over the past years. Eyvind Hellstrøm, historical president of Bocuse d’Or for Norway, and owner of the only restaurant in Norway to boast two stars (Bagatelle, in Oslo), will be the president of the contest.

A selection event on a continental scale designed to open the Bocuse d’Or to new nations
The creation of this second selection event to be held on a continental scale illustrates the approach adopted by the Bocuse d’Or for its 20th anniversary. For the occasion, Paul Bocuse, president-foun-der, together with the International Organising Committee have decided to further enhance the scope of the contest. Their intention, for the 20 years to come, is to open up the contest to new countries, giving their chance to new nations to join the Bocuse d’Or family. After Norway in 2008, Bocuse d’Or Europe, which will be a travelling event, will be held in other European countries.

A first continental selection event for Latin America in 2005
In 2005 already, the Copa Azteca inaugurated the concept of continental selection events. This first intermediate competition brought together 12 chefs from 12 countries of Latin America. The tests, that were organised as part of Abastur trade exhibition in Mexico, enabled Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, to secure a place in the 2007 finals in Lyon.

For further information, please visit www.bocusedor.com 

Press Relations Paris - AB3C
Anne Daudin – Jean-Patrick Blin
Vincent Maréchal
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 30 74 00 – vincent@ab3c.com
 
Press Relations SepelCom
Florent Suplisson – Tel: +33(0)4 72 22 33 42
Dominique Escoffier –
Tel: +33 (0)4 72 22 33 31
fsup@sepelcom.com

Chef Fabrice Desvignes from France has won the top prize of the Bocuse d’Or 2007 competition that was held from 23 to 24 January. With his victory, Chef Desvignes becomes the sixth French chef to win the competition.

Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed was placed second for a second consecutive year. Chefs from Scandinavia have always won high praise at the contest, taking one of the prizes of the contest each year since it began in 1987. Franck Giovannini of Switzerland was placed third this year.

The Bocuse d’Or competition was started by famed chef Paul Bocuse and is held every two years in Lyon, France. This year’s competition had 24 chefs from 24 countries competing with their skills over five and a half hours, all working with the same basic ingredients.

This year, the competition required contestants to serve a fish dish of Norwegian white halibut accompanied by Norwegian red king crab and a meat dish of Bresse chicken.

In the World Pastry Cup 2007 that was also held in Lyon from 21-22 January, Japan came out tops. Belgium was second while Italy clinched the third place. This was Italy’s first medal in the competition since 2001, when it also took the bronze. Three Italian bronze medalists also received the Special Press Prize for the chocolate cake they made.

Unleash your creative juices with avocados! The South African Avocado Growers Association(SAAGA) is holding a chef’s competition for the best, healthiest and nutritious avocado recipes.

The recipes submitted for the competition can range from a starter, main dish, side dish, salad to dessert. There is no limit to the number of recipes that each chef can submit. Chefs have to submit the recipes by 16.00 on Monday, 19 February 2007. Winners will be notified by telephone and will also receive a written confirmation.

To launch their 2007 avocado season, the SAAGA will develop a recipe booklet that will be distributed to the media and consumers. The best recipes in the competition will be featured in this booklet and the chefs of all the featured recipes will be credited in the booklet.

The SAAGA was originally named the Transvaal Avocado Growers’ Association before it changed its name in 1971. It aims to help avocado growers in Africa improve the quality of the harvests and market the products overseas. Currently, the US is a big market that the SAAGA would like to enter and gain a foothold.

For entry forms and further information please contact Bontle Tsikwe or Thato Radise at Protactic Strategic Communications on 011 882 9272 or bontle@protactic.co.za

The last edition in 2005 was fully subscribed with over 430 entries. Act now to secure yourself a place in this popular event before it is fully booked.

Download the entry form here.

Download The Rules and Regulations Booklet here.

Please e-mail your entry form to hkicc2007@mphk.com or log onto the official HKICC website.

By Perry Yuen

Hong Kong has done it again. Although the city has never seen any snow, its team won gold again at the Japan Snow Festival...

By Perry Yuen

The competition was held on 20^th and 21^st of January 2007 in Euroexpo, Lyon. There are twenty-four countries around the world participating in the competition. This is the most prestigeous competition for top-class pastry chefs around the world. Each team consists of three pastry chefs. They need to finish a chocolate showpiece with chocolate dessert, sugar work with platted dessert and ice carving with ice cream dessert within nine hours. Twelve countries participated each day. During the competition, we are impressed to see the quality of the products of the Asian teams- especially Taiwan, which came up to the 7^th place. After a very serious discussion among the judges at the end of the competition, the top trophy went to the Japan team. The second prize went to Belgium and Italy won the third prize.

Please see below as the details of the final ranking of the competition.

Source -- Yahoo

BANGKOK (AFP) - The tables were set, the silverware polished, and the harpist seated on the 65th floor of one of Bangkok’s plushest hotels, as the smells of a very special meal began to waft from the kitchen.

Just a few hours later, 40 guests took their seats for Thailand’s one-million-baht (29,000 dollar) dinner, where they feasted on lobsters, truffles and caviar -- prepared by six Michelin three-star chefs -- washed down with the world’s finest wines.

In Mezzaluna restaurant, staff furiously scrubbed all visible surfaces, while shouts in Thai, French and German were heard from the kitchen, as the chefs got to work on Saturday’s opulent 11-course menu.

"This is so exciting because this is the most extravagant event in the world so mistakes must not happen," said Thanaboon Srivichai, assistant restaurant manager. "We have to make it a success."

Ready for action in a tuxedo and maroon sash, Deepak Ohri, managing director of the host Lebua Hotels, fretted over last-minute touches for the dinner, the profits of which will go charity.

Asked if he was nervous, he replied with an emphatic "yes", but said he was looking forward to meeting the diners, who flew in from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

Of the 40 guests -- most of whom refused to be named -- 15 paid one-million-baht, while 25 were invited for free.

One of the lucky ones was American Douglas Gollan, president and editor-in-chief of Elite Traveler, a luxury travel and lifestyle magazine only available on private jets.

He first heard about the dinner when the invitation arrived six months ago.

"I just said ’yes’ and hoped they didn’t rethink," he said with a grin, adding that if he were a billionaire, he would not hesitate the pay the hefty price tag, and invite 39 of his friends.

Gollan told AFP that he looked forward to sampling the luxurious cuisine and wines, which include a 1955 Chateau Latour and a 1967 Chateau d’Yquem.

"I’m hoping that the buttons on my pants don’t pop off by the end of the night," he joked.

The evening’s most serious problem seemed to be getting all the chefs into the kitchen in time. Some were said to find Bangkok’s shopping and sightseeing a tempting distraction.

But once on duty, they displayed a Zen-like calm among skittish serving staff and scowling security, keen to evict errant onlookers seeking a glimpse at the moneyed guests.

"There is no point being nervous, you always have to keep your calm. Calm is a virtue," said Heinz Winkler, owner of Residenz Heinz Winkler in Bavaria, Germany, who cooked up pigeon with Perigord truffles for the guests.

Taking a break from mixing a bowl of chopped onion, ham, black truffles and scallops, Antoine Westermann, owner of Restaurant Buerehiesel in Strasbourg, France, agreed that there was no place for nerves in the kitchen.

"It’s not a problem, I am a professional," he said with a shrug.

Despite chefs’ reputations for over-sized egos, Mezzaluna’s resident chef Andrea Montella, from Italy, said he relished the chance to "see the masters at work", and said there was a lot of camaraderie between the three-star epicurean masters.

"Everyone has their own personality, which are all strong personalities (but) they are having fun," he said.

Joining Westermann and Winkler in the kitchen were Annie Feolde from Italy and Alain Soliveres, Marc Meneau and Jean-Michel Lorain from France.

As the sun set over Bangkok, the 42 serving staff rehearsed the evening, holding out imaginary plates in front of empty seats, as Ohri rushed from bar to restaurant, checking the wines and schmoozing with guests.

"After all the guests (have) left I’ll come to the bar and have a glass of champagne and relax," he told AFP, before hurrying off to greet his diners, who he described as "very normal people".

Dear Colleague,

Greetings from the World Association of Chefs Societies, the Hong Kong Chefs Association, the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre and the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute of the Vocational Training Council.

As you all know, from May 13 onwards we have HOFEX and the HKICC (Hong Kong International Culinary Competitions) here in Hong Kong. We are all looking forward to your participation.

At the same time we’ll be running the regional Final WACS Global Chefs Challenge at the HKICC.    

This is a NEW exciting worldwide contest where a chef and his young assistant (below the age of 23) have 5 hours to prepare a 4-course menu from a mystery basket.

We will have participants from 9 Asian countries including Hong Kong who will vie for the Asian championship.  The winner will either this year or next compete against 6 other winners from around the globe for the crown of the world’s Global Chef.  Honor, trophies, publicity and a cash award await the winner.

We are now looking for that chef and young assistant who will represent Hong Kong at the HKICC.

We’d like to invite your establishment to participate in a friendly culinary competition which requires one talented and motivated chef and one commis or assistant less than 23 years of age.

In Hong Kong, we anticipate having 10 candidates for the local preliminary round to cook a well balanced 4-course meal for 8 judges and media. The competition involves 10 culinarians and their assistants from hotels, restaurants, catering and culinary institutions. 

Each team will receive a mystery box (black box), containing different food items. Please refer to the attached booklet for rules and regulations.

There is a twist: the chef must also select the wine that goes with every course. Not to worry, there will be a wine consultant on hand which will give recommendations if needed. This is to qualify for an additional food/wine pairing award.

The venue for this event is the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (HITDC) and the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute (CCTI) of the Vocational Training Council at the Pokfulam Training Centre Complex, 145 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.

The chefs and assistants will register on March 12, 2007 at 15:00 pm at the 1^st floor Demonstration Kitchen where they will receive their “Mystery Box” with the ingredients which they can study and then submit a 4-course menu proposal.

The next day, March 13, they’ll return with their additional “Mis en Place” and cook for the Hong Kong qualifications round. Certificate and trophy will be given to the first 3 winners and the champion will represent us at HOFEX.

This is a great opportunity and motivational tool for your chefs and your establishment to compete in a friendly and professional manner, in the true spirit of our hospitality industry.

Sincerely yours,

Rudy Muller

Hong Kong Chefs Association

Vice President

Please click here to download the pdf file: WACS Global Chefs Challenge Brochure.(374KB)

Please click here to download the Sign up Form.(243KB)

Global Village

Launched in response to the growing demand for social and professional networking sites www.chefslife.com is set to change the way the leisure and hospitality industry communicates.

According to recent research networking sites are growing at a staggering 47% year-on-year*, but it’s only those that offer relevant content to members that survive.

Commenting on the launch founder David Hart says: “There’s no doubt that there is an on-line revolution happening in terms of how people communicate on a personal and professional level.

“Chefslife.com is the first website to honestly cater for all staff in the leisure and hospitality industry and, whilst we have concentrated on the UK for our launch, there will be rapid global expansion within the next six months.”

Editor Melissa Cole adds: “Because Chefslife.com offers the balance of professional information and personal interest I have no doubt it will become the ultimate on-line networking resource for the leisure and hospitality industry.”

All Work & Play

Chefslife.com, after careful research, has been constructed with distinct areas of interest to kitchen workers, front of house staff and management, including:

• A jobs board
• Discussion forums
• Recipe catalogues
• Ingredients glossary
• Workwear resources
• Cook book shop
• News, features and reviews

But it’s not all work and no play on Chefslife.com, there is also a music store option connected to i-Tunes as well as a hotel and restaurant guide, which will be continuously up-dated.

Join Free Today

Chefslife.com is designed to be free to its subscribers all you have to do is visit www.chefslife.com to register.

Note to editors:
*AC Nielsen/Net Ratings May 2006

For further information, artwork or photography please contact editor Melissa Cole on 07798 568400 or e-mail melissa@chefslife.com

BBQ is becoming increasingly very popular in  a lot of new places.

Besids beach BBQ  for the masses, restaurants and clubs are spending huge amount on pits and smokers. While BBQ chicken, seafood and ribs are just found anywhere, pulled pork, tritips and Texas style beef briskets are relative new to many places in HKG.

Beside traditional flavors, chefs are trying their hands on to new heights with east-west approach and funky taste buds.

My point is this;

Many are misuse the term of barbecuing. It has come to be applied to anything cooked on a grill, or even in the oven if a spicy tomato based sauce is applied.

Barbeque is not a dish, or a cooking devise, it’s a method of cooking.

There is a distinct difference between grilling and barbecuing, however grilling is done over direct heat of a fire, barbequing on the other hand is the process of cooking meat at low temperatures for a long period of time.

Proper BBQ takes time.  In lots of places I find the meat are rarely prepared in time and are tasteless and in-proper marinated. A good approach on purchase, trimming and preparation is crucial.

If you expect a crowed over the weekend, the meats need to be completed by mid-week.

The use of gas, charcoal or wood or any combination does take effect on the meat.

The meat need to be marinated for hours and the smoky flavor is provided by hours of slow cooking in a warm pit or smoker.

In a busy city like Hong Kong, flavors do matter and a perfect roast or bbq meat need time to mature to make the impact on the Chef’s secretes and innovation.

Happy Cooking

BY Andreas Muller

The Local Cooking Competition to select a candidate to compete in the Global Chef Asia competition at Hofex will be held in March. Invitation letters will be sent out in due course once all data is confirmed! The winner will then go on to compete for the Global Chef title to compete in Dubai in 2008.

Chef Kumale’s eclectic website gathers information and links on world food and world music. You can find a special section on spicy foods including everything you ever wanted to know about Hot Chiles and Jalepeno peppers. To view the website, visit www.kumale.net.

Check out the latest addition to the ECA Bookstore, the section on Culinary Competition guidebooks. Also recently uploaded, a new selection of titles in our General Interest category. CLICK for more information and prices.

Everyone’s talking about the book New Arabian Cuisine, which introduces innovative ways of preparing and presenting traditional Arabian dishes, combining local flavors and textures using a subtle European touch.
CLICK for more on this exciting new book.

This month will see the Valentine’s day celebration on February 14, which keeps getting more popular in Egypt every year. Delight your guests with a special assortment of deserts. To check out ideas on valentine-day recipes CLICK

As prestigious as the Culinary Olympics, the 2006 Expogast Culinary World Cup competition was held from 18 to 22 in Luxembourg. To view the hundreds of pictures of entries, some of which are really stunning, visit their day by day album on the WACS website CLICK .

For the winners list visit http://wacs2000.org/expogast

The Egyptian Chefs Association is organizing the "Safe Food Everyone’s Responsibility", a 2-day hygiene awareness workshop in Arabic on 26 & 27 February. The 5 main messages of the course are: care about your customer; safe ingredients; correct temperatures; clean work environment & utensils; and personal hygiene.

For more information and registration CLICK

Choose from three exciting ECA lectures offered on the sidelines to the Host Sharm Exhibition taking place from 19 to 22 February at the Savoy Hotel Sharm El Sheikh: Internatinal Culinary Trends, Professional Buffet Setting, and Essentials of Food Costing (a two-day workshop).

For further details and description CLICK.

The Egyptian Chefs Association is organizing the Host Sharm Salon Culinaire’07 in conjunction with the Host Sharm Exhibition from 19 to 22 February at the Savoy Hotel Sharm El Sheikh. There are various culinary categories to choose from, all similar to the categories of the National Salon Culinaire. Don’t miss this great opportunity to show your culinary talents.
For full details and program CLICK.

The heat is on!
For those of you who don’t know yet – HOSTEX 2007 is taking place from 18 to 21 March at the Sandton Convention Centre. The SA Chefs Village will be there with demonstrations, exhibits and competitions sure to get mouths watering! Many of the competitions are still open so get those entries in… And win! Your name may soon be on the lips of our industry as the chef who won the McCain Tribute to Good Taste or the chef awarded a spot on Team SA. You could also put your skills to the test in the Student Skills Challenge, or challenge the culinary creativists and walk away with top honours at one of the Salons Culinaire. Visit www.askchef.co.za for details or to download your entry form. Or contact Lauren on 011 482 7250.

British Culinary Federation and Chefs & Cooks Circle member Simon Hulstone has been selected to represent Great Britain in the WACS Global Chefs’ Challenge northern regions heat, to be held in Tallin this October.

He is a talented and experienced competition chef with a great chance of winning a place in the finals of the WACS Global Chefs’ Challenge, which takes place during the WACS World Congress in Dubai in 2008.

 The British contestant is sponsored by Electrolux Professional; Churchill China and our culinary partner, Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies.

Simon is married with one child and he is chef manager of the Michelin starred ‘Elephant’ restaurant in Torquay, Devon. 

Simon is a seasoned competitor and a very talented young chef. Just some of his past competition successes are: winner of the Hans Bueschkens Memorial Trophy in South Africa in 1996, winner of 32 gold medals in competitions in the UK, Roux Scholarship winner in 2002, winner of the Youth Skills Olympics competition in1995 and second place in Melbourne in the World Chef of the Year competition.

Simon is a great motivator and encourages his chefs to aim for the highest quality at all times and he actively encourages them to enter competitions all over the world to broaden their skills and knowledge.

In its continuing efforts to improve the level of culinary skills in Egypt , the Egyptian Chefs Association (ECA) has just concluded the Host Sharm Salon Culinaire’07, in conjunction with the Host Sharm Exhibition which took place from 19 till 22 February at the Savoy Hotel Sharm El Sheikh.

More than 80 chefs from various five-star hotels participated to the competition and praised the ECA for its efforts to reach out to its members nationwide. Once again the decorative showpieces stole the show at the chef’s competition, which featured eight different culinary arts categories.

In total, the Egyptian Chefs Association awarded two golds, 13 silvesr and 21 bronze medals at Host Sharm Salon Culinaire’07, which was hosted by the Egyptian Group for Marketing and sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions. The 2 gold medals were awarded to Samy Fayez Haroun of the Hilton Fayrouz and Ashraf Abdel Hamid Mohamed of the Hilton Sharm Dreams Resort. Both are kitchen artists and won their awards for their outstanding decorative showpieces.

For more information on the Host Sharm Salon Culinaire 2007 you can contact the ECA on 20-2-362-7217 and 532-8187 / 8 / 9 or visit www.egyptchefs.com

The Nordic Congress will be held in Turku on 18th - 20th of May. Around 300 chefs from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are expected to meet each other. Two cooking competitions are organized in addition to the Congress. The best Finnish Chefs are battling on 17th of May in the Finnish Chef of the year 2007 -competition and Nordic talents face each other on the following day in the Nordic Chef of the Year 2007 -competition. The Nordic Congress is organised by Finnish Chef Association and Turku Chef Association in co-operation with Nordic Chefs Association.

Further information: www.chefs.fi/nkf2007

The semi-final to the Chef of The Year and the Global Chefs Challenge in Iceland were held at the Hotel and Restaurant school in Reykjavik on the 5th and 6th of February 2007.

The theme of the competition was "Mystery Basket", and the competitors should make a 4-course meal in the following order; starter, second course, main course and dessert, for 8 people. The main ingredients in the Basket was; chicken liver, chicken, spotted catfish, monkfish, trout, tusk, scallops, chocolate and skyr(an Icelandic dairy product).

There were 7 judges. Five of them are from "Blind Taste", and they were; Wynand Vogel from Holland (Head Judge), Kjetil Gundersen from Norway and from Iceland; Ragnar Ómarsson, Jakob Magnússon and Gissur Guðmundsson. Two kitchen judges and they were both from Iceland, Bjarni Gunnar Kristinsson and Sverrir Halldórsson and their assistant was Stefán Viðarsson.

The twelve competitors are in the following order;

Ari Freyr Valdimarsson, Thorvaldsen Bar
Árni þór Jónsson, The Pearl
Eyjólfur Gestur Ingólfsson, Iðusalir
Gunnar Karl Gíslasson, Silver
Hermann Marinosson, Hotel Holt
Hrefna Rósa Jóhannsdóttir Sætran, Seafoodceller
Jóhannes Jóhannesson, Silver
Sigurður Daði Friðriksson, Hotel Holt
Sigurður Ívar Digurðsson, Seafoodceller
Þórarinn Eggertsson, Salt Radisson SAS 1919
Þráinn Freyr Vigfússon, the Grill Radisson SAS
Hotel Saga Ægir Friðriksson, Radisson SAS Hotel Saga


On Monday 5th, there was a meeting with the judges and competitors and they drew an assistant and a kitchen station. Then the Basket was presented and they were given one hour to make a 4-course menu, return the menu to the organizers and pick up the ingredients they would use in their menu, but after that no further ingredients or changes were allowed.

On Thursday morning the first competitor started at 08:00 and the next five minutes later, until they all had started. Every competitor had five hours until delivering the starter and then one hour between courses. The timetable worked very well, with no delays.

At the Icelandic Chefs Association meeting later that night the result from the competition was announced;

No 5. Eyjólfur Gestur Ingólfsson, Iðusalir
No 4. Ari Freyr Valdimarsson, Thorvaldsen Bar
No 3. Þráinn Freyr Vigfússon, the Grill Radisson SAS Hotel Saga
No 2. Þórarinn Eggertsson, Salt Radisson SAS 1919
No 1. Ægir Friðriksson, Radisson SAS Hotel Saga
These five goes to the final competition in the Icelandic Chef of the Year competition witch will be held in Akureyri in October 2007.

The 1st place also gave the winner the right to represent Iceland in the Global Chefs Challenge competition witch will be held in Tallinn, Estonia on the 31st of October to the 4th of November and his name is Ægir Friðriksson, Radisson SAS Hotel Saga.

Published on the NKF web-page:
http://www.nkf-chefs.com/press/default.asp?strAction=getPublication&intPublId=431


Regards,
on behalf of the Icelandic Chefs Association.