The 1st official board meeting under the new Presidium of the World Association of Chefs Societies Board was held in Johannesburg, South Africa between July 11th and 15th, at the invitation of our new chair of the Educational Committee, Mr. Martin Kobald, also President of the South African Chefs Association, Arnold Tanzer Continental Director for the Africa/Middle-East area and our Honorary President Dr. Bill Gallagher. The WACS Board and guests, all three new Chairmen of WACS Committees, as well as two very special guests, young chef ambassadors or “juniors” from Hong Kong and Canada, participated in a four days of meetings and events.

We will be publishing the minutes of this meeting on the WACS website after they come out from translation at the end of the month of August. Indeed, one promise we made was to have all important decisions translated in all four of the official WACS languages; French, German, Spanish and English. Another promise we made was to have you, the members, more involved in what is going on in WACS and so I strongly encourage you to follow the minutes and see what we are doing.

Some of the major themes we focused on in our discussions were: the direction of WACS for the next four years, the new Young Chef Ambassadors (Juniors) initiative, the Global Chefs Challenge Rules and the WACS Booth which we will have in Erfurt at the IKA.

Indeed, one of the directions we are taking is to have the Young Chefs let us know what they want out of WACS. You will be able to view their ideas and report on the website as well.

We also want WACS to have more exposure at shows around the world to try to both promote WACS and its programs as well as being there to answer questions and getting to know our members. We will start this initiative by going to Erfurt with our booth. Most of the Board members will be attending with their National Teams. We all agreed at our last board meeting that we would be too preoccupied with other things to hold a board meeting there, but all of us, that will be attending, will take turns in the booth. We hope to see you there! I know that some of the Committees will be holding meetings there as well so it is a good opportunity to meet them also.

On another positive note, we are currently in dialog with many companies around the world regarding potential partnerships for the upcoming four years. We are opening up to companies on a global level and we know that, with help from our members, we will be successful.

One of the big announcements at this meeting is that Dr. Bill Gallagher is now officially retired from his work for the Southern Sun Group. I wish him the best in this part of his life but look forward to working by his side as he continues to advise us in the Board as Honorary President of WACS.

WACS is now endorsing more and more competitions and “salons culinaires” or shows around the world and two new shows have been endorsed in the last few days: ZAGG in Luzern, Switzerland which will be held in 2008 and the Asia Culinary Cup in Bangkok which will be held in 2009.

We are starting planning now for our next Board meeting which will be held in Birmingham, in the UK on November 6th to 11th where our goal will be to discuss and organise the next Congress in Chile.

I was sad to hear in December of the sudden passing away of Mr. Raoul Gaïga, longtime president of the Mutuelle des Cuisiniers de France, the French WACS member. But I hear very good things about their new President Mr. Christian Millet. I will be heading to Paris in just a few days to meet some of their members and their newly elected President to talk more about their future involvement in WACS. You can read more about Mr. Christian Millet on our featured member country in a letter from their Director, Mr. Patrice Trincali.

Dear friends, I know many of you are now returning from holidays and the normal work days are starting; stay happy and focused and look at things in a positive way. I wish you all success in your lives.

In the meantime, please let us know what you think of our projects and give us your ideas!

Gissur Gudmundsson
WACS President

Dear friends and colleagues,

After the 33rd WACS Congress in Dubai, Southeast Europe has gained new members. Now united with the former eleven countries included in this area are Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro. Not forgetting the new WACS Extraordinary Members in our area: Rimini Fiery Spa Maribe and the Ekin Group from Istanbul.

What awaits us in the future?

The first and very important event for us all is the IKA in Erfurt which will take place from the 19th to 22nd of October 2008. The competition is very important for everyone in the industry and I think that many of us have been busy preparing our teams for this.

The Board of WACS is planning to raise a stand and organize on every alternate day the gathering of continental directors and other board members, so I hope that we will meet there and have the time to exchange some words.

The following is information that I have received from colleagues from the Turkish Chef Federation about their salon and competition at the Istanbul Gastronomy Festival which will be held from the 28th to 31st January 2009:

“ISTANBUL GASTRONOMY FESTIVAL:
CALLING YOU TO THE SYMPHONY
Meeting of Tastes Where Two Continents Meet…
The nature of making people embrace each other and the nature of tourism can be proven particularly in gastronomy with material examples. The events that gather the food cultures of various countries make great contributions to the world-wide spread of tourism.

We are sure that dear Tony Theuma, who contributed greatly in bringing to reality the Istanbul International Gastronomy Festival, a gathering of the most important chefs of the world, would be very touched if he could see the level that the contest has reached.

Cuisine professionals of the most important and leading tourism facilities of Turkey are competing with each other to exhibit their talents by participating in the contest. Our chefs also achieve success in foreign countries and come back with excellent results from those contests, which makes us all proud of them.

The Istanbul International Gastronomy Festival grows every year, is a successful and effective feature of the City, and must be seen as the success of the Turkish tourism sector.”

If you remember the presentations in Dubai, our colleague from Malta presented the Mediterranean Culinary and Folklore Festival.

This will be a Gastro-Experience aimed at the promotion of fresh and genuine Mediterranean food products. In recent years, Mediterranean food has been globally recognized for its nutritional and health values and this festival will serve as a platform to promote these products in a professionally culinary artistic manner and will provide chefs from various countries the opportunity to express their skills and promote food products from their respective lands.

The festival will serve as a platform to create further awareness not only of the health and nutritional values of Mediterranean cuisine, but also its wide range of cooking and preparation methods and its versatility and adaptability to be fused with other world cuisines.

The participating countries will also be encouraged to promote food products as well as their folklore and heritage in the form of traditional dancing, arts and crafts. From the educational aspect, seminars, conferences and other similar activities will also be organized.

The festival will create opportunities for emerging Mediterranean countries to start integrating themselves within the international culinary community. Above all, it will help create a sense of unity amongst the participating countries with them enjoying a common Mediterranean heritage and working towards a common goal, without reference to race, creed, colour or religion.

Twenty-one modern states have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. They are:

*Spain,*France, Monaco, *Italy, *Malta, *Slovenia , *Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, *Montenegro, Albania, *Greece, *Turkey, *Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, *Israel, *Egypt, Libya. Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco (* WACS Members)

1. The event may be held on an annual or bi-annual basis, depending on which will be most practical and feasible. The official participants will be the Culinary Associations who, in turn, will be representing their respective countries.
2. It should preferably always be held at the same period. This festival will be held in the first week of February 2009. In this way, we will avoid clashing with other major international events and will facilitate planning well in advance.
3. The duration of the festival will be between three and five days.
4. The festival will be organised on three platforms:
   1. A culinary competition.
   2. Exhibition of food & beverage products as well as arts and crafts, folklore and dance performances.
   3. Educational activities such as seminars, workshops, demonstrations etc.
5. The Culinary Competition will take the format of the Mediterranean Chef of The Year (both senior and junior classes), as well as Patissier of the Year (one class only).
6. As for the exhibition aspect of the festival, each participating country will be allocated an area for the exhibition of various traditional food specialities as well as beverages such as wine and liqueur, etc. Manufacturers will be given the opportunity to exhibit their products. This same area will also serve for the exposition of arts and crafts, such as textiles, weave, pottery, ceramics, old culinary implements, paintings etc.
7. A set of criteria will be set for a country to be eligible for selection as a venue for the festival. The criteria will take into consideration elements such as practical flight connections, previous experience in the organization of similar events, the establishment of a culinary association, availability of suitable exhibition space with nearby accommodation and facilities, etc.
8. This being an event closely linked to the tourism industry, it is essential that the participating associations do so in close collaboration with their respective national tourism organization.

In March 2008, our colleagues from Croatia will be organizing the European WACS Conference in Split. I have already contacted them and we are working on a program which we will present in Erfurt.

Also, I have contacted Fausto from Portugal who will be the next organizer of the WACS Global Chefs Challenge Semi-Final in May 2009 in Lisbon.

What I plan for the near future:

• I will work on preparing all information regarding activities in our part of Europe and send it to all of you.
• As I have time and availability, I will visit as many of the culinary competitions in South Europe and report on them to the board of WACS.
• I will try to establish contact with Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania and see if they have associations that would like to join WACS.
• If all the member associations send me details of culinary competitions going on in their countries, we can put up a list of all competitions in Southern Europe.
• I will be working on an education program and equivalence program.

I hope to see as many of you in Erfurt in October and around South Europe.

Best Regards,

Chers amis de la WACS,

Lors des élections du conseil d´administration de notre association « Les Cuisiniers de France », au mois de juin 2008, nous avons eu le plaisir d’élire notre nouveau Président, pour une période de quatre ans : Monsieur Christian Millet.

Grâce à ses obligations professionnelles, Monsieur Christian Millet est connu et reconnu dans toute la France ainsi que dans de nombreux pays.

En effet, depuis sa plus tendre enfance, il évolue au sein de ses deux professions que sont la cuisine et la pâtisserie.

C’est très jeune qu´il débuta en cuisine dans le restaurant de Georges Perrin avec pour chef un certain Jean-Michel Bédier.

Ensuite, il a passé 7 années où il travailla dans l’entreprise familiale : fils du pâtissier Jean Millet, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Président de la Confédération de la pâtisserie, confiserie, glacier, de 1978 á 2000.

En 1982, il prend les fonctions d’Attaché de Direction au sein de la Société Mora, leader national et international en fourniture de matériel de cuisine, puis celles de Directeur en 1999. Ce poste lui permet de rester en contact avec les cuisiniers, aussi bien avec les très grands que les moins grands, tous aujourd’hui ses amis.

En parallèle de ses activités au sein de la Société Mora, Christian Millet créa, en 1991 avec l’éminent chef de Cuisine et ancien propriétaire de l´Auberge des Camélias, Jean Delaveyne, un restaurant appelé Le Regain, qu’ils exploitèrent pendant plusieurs années. Désireux de renouveler cette première et formidable expérience, il ouvre, 1999, son propre restaurant qu’il exploite encore à ce jour : Le Pouilly Reuilly.

Comme vous pouvez le constater, notre cher Président Christian Millet est un homme d’action. C’est avec beaucoup d’enthousiasme qu’il mène ses trois activités de directeur de société, de restaurateur et de président.

Il nous est très facile de dire et d’écrire que notre Président Christina Millet connaît bien notre association, « Les Cuisiniers de France », car : il y est membre depuis de nombreuses années, et avant d’être élu président, il fut élu administrateur, puis premier vice-président, est t’il utile de préciser qu’il fut le confident privilégié de notre regretté et cher président Raoul Gaïga.

De part son implication, son modernisme et son enthousiasme, Christian Millet va insuffler, dans un avenir très proche, de nouvelles idées et de nouvelles actions, entouré par un conseil d’administration où beaucoup de jeunes nouveaux administrateurs ont été élus le même jour de son élection à la Présidence de notre association.

Déjà, sa première idée est lancée : la mise en place d’un nouveau concours de cuisine. Mais en parallèle, il veut la continuité de la modernisation et de la distribution de notre Revue Culinaire, et surtout, la mise en route d’un site Internet qui n’existe pas encore au sein de notre association.

Voilà en quelques lignes des nouvelles de notre Président et de notre association Les Cuisiniers de France, qui est et qui restera l’association historique de tous les cuisiniers français.

Bien cordialement à vous tous

Patrice Trincali

Dear Friends of WACS,

In June 2008, the Board of Directors held elections for our association, Les Cuisiniers de France and we are glad to announce our new president: the internationally-renowned Mr. Christian Millet.

The son of pâtissier Jean Millet (Meilleur Ouvrier de France, president of the confederation of pastry, confectionary and ice cream artisans from 1978 to 2000), Mr. Millet is well-versed in the areas of cusine and pastry. He started cooking in Georges Perrin’s restaurant at a very young age, with Chef Jean-Michel Bédier, after which he spent seven years in his family’s business.

In 1982, he assumed the position of attaché to the management of Mora, a leading international supplier of culinary materials; in 1999, he became the company’s director. This position put him in touch with countless chefs, facilitating important friendships with them.

Parallel to his activities for Mora, Mr. Millet, together with eminent chef de cuisine and former owner of Auberge de Camélias, Jean Delaveyne, opened a restaurant named Le Regain in 1991, which they ran for many years. Wanting to recreate the wonderful experience he had had at Le Regain, he opened Le Pouilly Reuilly in 1999, which he runs till this day.

As evidenced above, Mr. Millet is a man of action. Therefore, it is with much enthusiasm that he manages his three roles as director, restaurateur and president. He is no stranger to Les Cuisiniers de France: he has been a member for several years and, prior to being elected president, he was elected administrator, then vice-president. He now succeeds our former president Raoul Gaïga.

With his modernism and enthusiasm, we are sure Mr. Millet will inspire new ideas and actions, especially since he is surrounded by a board of many young, talented administrators who were elected simultaneously with Mr. Millet. Already, he has brought his first idea to light: the inauguration of a new culinary competition. He also wants our magazine, Revue Culinaire, to continue evolving and hopes to set up of a new website for our association.

Yours Sincerely,
Patrice Trincali
Director
Cuisiniers de France

It was the once in a life time to be present at The Chinese University Of Hong Kong’s CUHK Carnival in support of The Olympic Spirit.

Held on the 16th Aug 2008 at the Esther Lee Building of the University in Shatin, Members of the Hong Kong Chefs Association started to set up in the early morning in their Chef whites jackets which made them stand out and the varieties of food that was dished out through the day.

A taste of the menu was as follows:

• Crabmeat with mayo and chervil in tartlet shell
• Hong Kong Traditional buns
• Mushroom soup with a Basil Foam
• Serran shoulder ham with pesto and Tomato bruchetta
• Honey mustard crabmeat with chive in tartlet shell
• Cheeses of the world

There was a demonstration of how to make the perfect “Pineapple bun” of Hong Kong. Another first for the Hong Kong Chefs Association was a demonstration of making a salad with Organic shrimp by Edwin Tsui and also the Hong Kong Youth Chefs Club presentation in the auditorium session. It was very well received.

We were so popular that we attracted the German Ambassador to Hong Kong and the Chancellor of the CUHK to our stand. We had the help of the Ladies Team for Singapore on hand and members of The National team together with members of HKCA that made us stood out and shine.

A BIG THANK YOU to our generous Sponsors
-La Rose Noire
-Gastro Primo
-Philips foods
-Classic Fine Foods
-Unilever
-Hong Kong Aquaculture Group Holdings
-Chef Angus and Team of HKCEC
-Chef Anthony Goh and Team at Disneyland

And also the members of Hong Kong Chefs Association and Hong Kong Youth Chefs Club on hand to help to make this event a super success.

Hong Kong Chef’s Association is proud to be associated and part of the Beijing Olympic 2008. “ONE WORLD , ONE DREAM”

Source: HKCA Newsflash August 18th, 2008
For more pictures and to read more articles from HKCA Newsflash, click here

Click here to view more photos

In the next village, there were far over 600 children and the weather was very hot, which resulted in a lot of hard work for us.

Kids are not easy to control when there is Milupa on the run.

Many thanks,

Oliver

Dear Friends,

We started the supplement feeding project in 15 towns that were most affected by Cyclone Nargis and have expanded it to include children in our new "Delta Milk Bars".

We are working together with the Maternal & Child Welfare Association at Village level, attached to them is one of our chefs. This grants a well-coordinated and controlled hygienic food production as well distribution.

There are no baby bottles, each of the babies have a clean cup. Milupa Milk & Wheat is cooked with Hassia Mineral Water which are both from Germany, provided through LOG Germany.

Aside from children older than 6 months but younger than 5 years, we are also including the elderly who are poor and weak.

There are daily feedings now everywhere (distributed to 15 towns that constitute the most affected regions of the Nargis Cyclone).

You should see how the kids sipped the cups empty.

A big thank you to Milupa, Hassia and LOG – Germany.

Click here to view more photos

Oliver E Soe Thet
President Myanmar Chefs Association
WACS Member, - Yangon 29.8.08
Union of Myanmar

Dear All,

We are pleased to inform that our educational tour to the Heng Lee Sya Sauce factory had opened many eyes. We learned how Soya sauce, bean paste and etc were made. We were shown by the owner Mr. Boey, the secret measurement used in olden days and the processes before a top quality of Soya sauce being produced.

Over 30 members and associates attended this event. We are planning for more factory visits in the coming months.
Please find attached the pictures for your perusal.

Click here to view more photos

Best Culinary Regards
Peter Chan PJM

Click here for more photos

Delivery of healthy and good nutrition Child Food by MCA , thanks to LOG - Germany ,- 16.8.08

Oliver E Soe Thet
MCA Yangon 25.8.08

Click here to view more photos

Please see the information on our off-loading of 62 tonnes of Child Food Aid to the Nargis Cyclone Victims from LOG and MCA/WACS on 16.8.08 and further transfers via river boats to the most affected cyclone regions through the MCA Network and members.

Also see the first PIX of direct delivery through rivers and channels with LOG – Germany’s President, Mr Frank Franke, a Journalist who directed a one week TV documentary of the present situation at the Nargis Delta Region in Myanmar.

Oliver E Soe Thet
President Myanmar Chefs Association
WACS Member
Yangon 25.8.08
Union of Myanmar

From: Oliver Esser Soe Thet
          President Myanmar Chefs Association
          Member of World Association of Chefs Societies
          Boe Moe Street, 30 A / B 5th fl., Sanchaung, Miyanigone
         Yangon, Union of Myanmar
          Tel. & Fax.: 00 95 1 501123,
          E Mail: angel@myanmar.com.mm   Yangon: 23.8.08

Myanmar Aid Direct to People

Dear all, friends of Myanmar and Myanmar residents,

In 4 months there will be Christmas around the world, although here in the Nargis-hit Delta region Christmas has seemingly come early.

For three weeks we were a bit silent apart from the “News Flashes” at our WACS website, www.wacs2000.org, in the sense of long reports.

The reason was and is, that we got more and more attached to the live and daily issues of the people in the Delta in 24 villages, and were very much involved with food, nutrition, health, education, housing and water sanitation.

Everything was made possible through your every individual donation - most grateful to you all - still coming in.

Up until now, 12 more villages with around 24,000 people have requested for our support as there was no help jet and the situation is getting more serious for them – our limited funds did not allow us to bring them in, even for the most basic – The Daily Rice Ration.

A big “food basket” was promised and funded by a UN Agency but was never implemented - for 200,000 beneficiaries, in southern YGN Division, was the hope we had for all these people, as well as for the other 24 villages.

Sadly, save for many words, many meetings and several promises, nothing happened, nothing got arranged by this UN Agency for these people.

It is their right, but since over 10 weeks now, all is approved but not yet delivered.

We spent a lot of time in these meetings with a pure intention believing in this AID Giant – UN, we promised to the people on the ground and made contacts to ensure that they get their fair share.

Up until now, we have not seen any rice corn being sent to these people.

We will monitor any progress whenever we are at the River Villages.

A kind of Christmas – 24.8.08

The reason why we were a bit silent regarding our very detailed reports was that we were very much busier over the past 3 to 4 weeks with very good news of developments and help for the cyclone victims at the Irrawaddy Delta.

The cargo vessel MV Susan K, donated at the spot while in Yangon Port: 2500 tin food, 900 kg best parboiled rice and 1200 bottles of mineral water.

Mr. Frank and Mrs. Marie Luise and the whole team of Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen from Frankfurt arranged with and through us the major Aid Donation of 62 tonnes of mainly baby and children food, urgently needed by an estimated 68,000 children under 5 years who are at risk of malnutrition.

Mrs. Agnes James and Singapore Airlines Germany collected more and sent another 250 kg clothes for people at the Delta which just arrived today.

All these very valuable initiatives needed special attention, time, arrangements and coordination with port and airport customs and warehouse people in charge. This was and still is not a small amount.

All arrangements for our Delta Region Warehouses, as well logistics to transfer all goods by truck as well by big Delta boats as far as Haingyi Island (for roofing material), Labutta (mainly for water purification & children food), Pyapon and Kayilat (food and children food) and Twante (a mix of all).

This is next to our usual rice distribution twice weekly to our 24 villages – 26,000 people at the river triangle of Maubin, Kayilat and Twante.

Here we added several more initiatives to the people there and extended our health support program with two volunteer Myanmar Surgical Drs (long time friends of MCA) as well as more housing for people in need.

We had several “special cases” – this is where we also like to concentrate more on now, as we know the villages now very well, we know where are the people who need the most attention.

Maung Akar Min a 1.5 year old baby totally burnt both hands and arms with cooking liquid. We brought him with his mother the same day to a Yangon Hospital and Dr Win Htu (from the Plastic Surgery Team) treated him for a week. He is now back home.

8 weeks old Nargis baby, Mg Thet Naing Oo, with just 2.7 kg weight suffered from a chest infection and was more dead than alive. We brought the baby to the YGN Child Hospital and granted treatment for 4 weeks, as well a special Mother and Child education training for the mother there. The baby is very well now and returned on 20.8.08 with his mother back to the Delta.

We also brought a pregnant women for a 8th month check up as she had back injuries. All is OK with the baby and it is the first time in the Delta village that the villagers knew she was carrying a boy. Last week her husband died all of a sudden and they still need a house and further support to ensure life for the living and a better life for the baby.

We can take care the of house, give some direct support and the eldest daughter can work at a good friend’s house in Yangon – she will also get further education – a very good Myanmar family.

We had the honor of Mr. Klaus Mittermaier following us twice to the Delta rivers. He a special envoy from the German Government to Myanmar, in charge of supporting and coordinating all German NGOs and INGOs activities concerning Nargis Aid & Relief.

We learnt a lot from his wide experience of over 20 years with cyclones in Bangladesh, mostly on the long term projects such as safe shelter systems.

Tobias Esche from the Humbolt University Berlin also assisted us during our Delta tours, especially with food distribution and language assistance, as he speaks fluently the Myanmar language.

Twice we had also been with Mr. Frank Franke of Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen ( LOG ) Germany at the Delta. He, as president of LOG, was mainly responsible for the great load of aid to Myanmar people, providing 62 tonnes of children food.

Under the them: “Smiles from Food, No Tears from Hunger”, we delivered thousands of ready to drink milk as well high nutrition cookies from MILUPA Germany to children under 5 years.

From the Myanmar Ambassador in Berlin, knowing that Mr. Franke is a well known Journalist, he got the encouragement, “…We are happy that you by yourself visit our country, we would like to invite you to see direct hands on, we would love that you write about your view and what you experience in Myanmar and at the Delta region…So that many more people get a first hand view on the situation in Myanmar today.”

Mr. Franke did so, well equipped for both newspaper and TV. We are very happy that this way, a clear and straight view on the situation here can reach people in Europe and beyond. We would be happy if more would: “…Come and see – seeing is believing.”

We hope very much that through these hands on and first hand accounts, direct from the ground reports from Myanmar, can encourage many more people to come and visit our country.

Visit the Delta region, see the lives of the people there and visit the traditional tourist destinations such as Ancient Bagan, Historical Mandalay, Romantic Inle Lake and Pristine Ngapali Beach.

Only the ones who come by themselves can get a clear uncovered picture.

All the people of Myanmar welcome you, you as tourists are hope for them. You will help them to generate private direct income indirectly as tourism boosts the educational as well vocational standard in a country and region.

The people of Myanmar have already decided – tourists should come to Myanmar now, you are warmly welcomed.

Tomorrow, 24.8.08 we will be at the Irrawaddy Delta again, we will split our team, one will go to Ma Khet Khet for food and child food delivery, as well as to follow up with the highly pregnant lady there.

Our team will be at our “hard core village”, with our two Drs again for direct treatment to children and elder people.

As a special task we will screen all children under the age of five years, measure them by weight and height as well MUAC, to get a clear indication of the level of malnutrition and compare the situation 6 weeks ago and in 6 weeks to come. It is important to focus more on most people in need, rather than doing a blanket treatment. Also here we will have for the kids the Milupina High Nutrition Snack.

Another duty tomorrow will be the training as well installation of permanent “Child Feeding Stations” where mothers will bring their babies (older than 6 months) for additional feeding. We are able to do this thanks to all you individual donors, as well through the massive aid donation of children food in combination with clean German mineral water through Mr. Franke and LOG Germany.

We would also like to say many thanks to our long time friend, Mr Monching from Samporna Company, who ensured that we can start an new Traditional Housing Project in a village on the way. Tomorrow we will do the survey there to get things started. While construction materials are getting lesser, we might be able to establish another 40 to 50 new houses for the people in urgent need.

We could do much more, but funds are needed. We understand that time is needed and so we are very happy to have off and on again a good donor sending funds to our account as mentioned below.

We would be happy if you could help us with a bit to ensure that support for these people at the Delta can be extended until late October to early November 2008.

Soon I will bring you more detailed reports, thoughts and suggestions from the people at the Delta.

With many thanks, yours,

Oliver Esser Soe Thet & Daw Khin Khet Khet Khaing
Myanmar Chefs Association, Yangon 23.8.08
Union of Myanmar

Hilfe fuer Entwicklungslaender e.V. “ Action Myanmar “

• Dr. med. Werner & Mallu Heller, Wildenbruchstr. 66,
• D- 40545 Duesseldorf, - Tel: 00 49 (0) 211 554769, Fax: 5580107
• E Mail: hellus1@freenet.de & esserrene@aol.com
All info & pictures: www.lagunalodge-myanmar.com and Ruedis:

http://home.citycable.ch/ruedi/cyclone_oliver_0619/index.html
http://home.citycable.ch/ruedi/cyclone_oliver_0620/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/hr_weber/cyclone_mca/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/hr_weber/cyclone_rice/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/hr_weber/cyclone_house/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/hr_weber/cyclone_mca/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/hr_weber/cyclone_help/index.html

With a very big thank you to all supporters, any support is a big help to the victims.

Click here to view more photos

A first solution against hunger to 68,000 children under 5 years at the Nargis-hit Delta Region in Myanmar: LOG - Germany and MCA arranged to send a 62 tonne Child Food Aid load in a 3 x 40 foot container, which arrived in Yangon by ship on 12.8.08 and is now being distributed through Myanmar Chefs Association channels at the Delta.

To support all baby food with clean water, the main donor, "Milupa - Germany", with LOG Germany arranged to send us 20 tonnes of good Mineral Water.

Chefs became overnight carry men, The President became a fork lift driver, and all had great fun until 3:00 am that day.
By trucks and Delta river boats, the load was transferred to the areas most affected by the Cyclone ahead.

A very special "Thank You" to an un-named great donor, a key player of the world hospitality industry.

For any donor who would like to arrange loads as we just received to the Cyclone Victims, please contact directly:
Oliver Esser Soe Thet, President of Myanmar Chefs Association. We will take care of all clearing and FOC Import licenses, and all handlings here in Myanmar.
As for sea cargo as well as air cargo, thanks to the great support of the government, all needed papers and documents are always received within a view days.

A key demand is rice as a form of staple food. Here we are in urgent need of rice directly or funds for local purchase.
There is enough rice in Myanmar, it is the funds needed to purchase the rice. Especially since the UN - World Food Program is well under funded this August and not well up with their food pipeline.

Your support is needed, especially for children and the elder people.

With best culinary RGDS, yours,

Oliver E Soe Thet
President Myanmar Chefs Association
WACS member, Yangon 25.8.08
Union of Myanmar

Dear All Valued Friends,

Please find attached our latest release newsletter "Nasi Kandar" for your reading pleasure!

Best Culinary Regards
Peter Chan PJM
Hon-Secretary

Dear All CAM Pg Chapter Members,

Please find attached an invitation for you to participate in this seminar. Book early to escape dissappointment!

Regards Peter Chan PJM Hon-Secretary

Dear All,

Good Day!

Please kindly help to circulate this flyer to all, & inform all donor to bring all their rice & others daily goods to AUDEE’s latest by 02nd SEPTEMBER 2008 & for CHQ & Cash to CAM, PENANG CHAPTER Acct’ & keep me informed for my info, preparations & arrangement.

Kind Rgds,

Lee Chan Wai PJM
CAM, Penang Chapter
OC, CHARITY RICE RAISING PROJECT 2008
lcwai@springonion.com.my
012-4017257

Click here for more pictures

As the forklift driver did not come, we took matters into our hands for the night. It worked well, also because of a great partner and friend, Mr. Frank Franke, President of LOG Germany. Also with us were the MCA Drs Team, Dr Khun Zaw Naing and Dr Ku Ku.

More tomorrow with reports on the events and the future.

Best Greetings,

Oliver E Soe Thet
MCA Yangon 18.8.08

The lady started to dance for us and sing aloud when she saw us coming with new rice shipments on 30.7.08 at Mya Gone Village. We have it on DVD as well, as a good scene of happiness and joy.

Click here for more photos

I need some pictures for information from our DR Friends for feedback next week, take a closer look please.

Thanks,

Oliver Yangon 2.8.08

We had 8 villages scheduled for 30.7.08:

Mya Gon (295 children under the age of 5 years)

Mya Khan Thar

Zibyigone Village (570 children under the age of 5 years)

Click here to view more photos

- 500 bags of B1 Vitamin rich rice delivered.

- There is a total of 300750 kg (301 tonnes) of rice now, brought directly to the people by MCA from 5.5.2008 to 30.7.2008.

- Checked the progress on 50 traditional houses donated by Mr Suki Singh, MD of The Strand Hotel Yangon.

- Assigned 10 more houses to be built soon for families who have lost everything.

- Delivered a 3-month supply of B1 vitamin supplements to 48 pregnant and lactating women.

- Need to follow up with B1 supplements for at least 30 more lactating women to prevent Berrie Berrie to children under 5.

- Examined several children for malnutrition, we will soon have additional Nutrition Rich food through our Sponsor LOG - Germany.

- Registered two cleft lips and one cleft palet to be transferred in October to Yangon’s Prof. Khin Mg Lwin for an operation by German Interplast Munich, Dr Heinz Schoeneich.

- One more box of Amoxicilin 500 at Zibyigone left to support the old issue, which is almost cleared.

- Discussed with all partners at the main site with regards to the storage & delivery of the coming aid by LOG - Germany, as well as from MV Susan K.

- 300kg of clothes are on the way from Singapore Airlines Germany to the MCA for Nargis cyclone victims.

- We will start a full screening in all our Villages for children under 5 years of age for height and weight to measure the nutritional-health status.

- MCA is engaging more now in supplement feeding through the World Food Program, as a blanket program to children under 5 & lactating women.

- MCA starts targeted feeding of nutrition supplements to lactating women and children under 5 years of age.

Again many thanks for the continuous support which ensures our efforts for the people for an extended period of time, so as to provide for all people in need (out of 34 villages, only 24 are taken care of due to limited funding ) until the end of October 2009.

As such, we need one or more very good donor again quickly.

There is no need for donations to be in the form of cash, they can be also ready and easy to cook nutrition-rich food sent to MCA in Myanmar as we do all clearing and delivery as well as documentation here in Myanmar.

As for big Global Food Companies, sea or air container wise, we are getting the first shipments through LOG Germany in the coming 10 days.

With best culinary RGDS, yours

Oliver E Soe Thet
President Myanmar Chefs Association
Member WACS, Yangon 2.8.08
Union of Myanmar

Additional updates:

Please see the first shipment of Aid - Food items from MV Susan K:

Click here for more photos

860 bottles, Spanish mineral water
900 kg parboiled rice
2500 tin of fish, meat and fruits

Soon we will send a documentary of the delivery to Nargis cyclone victims through MCA/WACS Myanmar.

With many thanks to the donor and German ship owner/operator,

Oliver Esser Soe Thet
President Myanmar Chefs Association
WACS Member, Yangon 2.8.08
Union of Myanmar

Dear Friends,

Information from the Myanmar Chefs Association (member of WACS) regarding Traditional Housing for Nargis Victims.

Please see the next housing project for Traditional Houses for Nargis Cyclone Victims.

Click here to view more photos

This project is fully financed by Mr Suki Singh, MD of The Strand Hotel Yangon.

For 50 traditional houses / families.

All materials delivered to:
Mya Khan Thar Village
Zibyigone Village
Mya Gone Village

Materials for three houses at Min Baw Than Village and Ga Tan Village will be delivered in the coming week by MCA.

People have started with the building. We visited the site on 30.7.08 and arranged for some carpenters for people who are not able to build the houses by themselves.

We also arranged for more houses to be built as we found more people in need.

We will be back at the same villages next week due to health & nutrition issues and stay on to assist with the project.

The "Early Recovery" project could need more donors in the future to ensure more people enjoy the benefits of a new home and the start of a new life.

Many thanks to Mr. Suki, we would be happy if he would like to visit the villages in the next weeks or months. It is a one day return tour from Yangon, also open to any other interested visitors we would be happy to bring to the Delta Region. Seeing is believing.

Many greetings, more pictures are coming with the next mail, yours,

Oliver E Soe Thet
MCA/ WACS
Yangon, 2.8.08

Western Cuisine Trade Test
at the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (HITDC)

by Andreas Muller

This is the 5th year that the Western Cuisine Trade Test was held at the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (HITDC) during July 2008.

The Centre is pleased to announce that 61 Certified Cooks were awarded the Western Cuisine Trade Test Certificate.

The professional qualifications for this test are jointly issued by Germany and Hong Kong and recognized by the EU countries. The HITDC and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Koblenz, Germany officially launched the Western Cuisine Trade Test in 2004. Since then, a total number of 284 candidates have passed the test, a proof that Hong Kong has elevated its culinary standards to international levels.

The HITDC strives to be the leading training institution in providing first-class technical skills training for the hospitality trade in Hong Kong to maintain and uphold Hong Kong’s leadership position in the hospitality industry in South East Asia. The HITDC offers a wide range of full-time and part-time courses for the hotel, catering and tourism industry. HITDC will continue to attract aspiring chefs to join the industry and provide part-time training courses to enhance the technical competence of in-service chefs in the industry.

Information on the next Western Cuisine Preparatory Course and Trade Test Academic Year 2008/09

Preparatory Course for Certified Cook:

The Preparatory Course for Certified Cook will commence on 2 January 2009 and will continue until 25 June 2009.
Classes will be held every Monday afternoon from 3pm to 6pm. The duration of the course is 60 hours.
The course fee is HK$5,000.*
Details on dates and application deadline will be advised at a later stage.

Preparatory Workshop and Trade Test for Certified Cook:

The Preparatory Workshop for Certified Cook is a one-day workshop, which will take place either on 11 May 2009 or 18 May 2009 for eight hours; starting from 8:30am to 5:30pm.
The Trade Test will consist of a two-hour written test to be held in June 2009 and a sixhour practical test in July 2009.
The course fee is HK$ 2,300.*
Details on dates and application deadline will be advised at a later stage.

Preparatory Course and Trade Test for Trainer Chef:

The Preparatory Course for Trainer Chef will commence on 8 January 2009 and will continue until 25 June 2009.
Classes will be held every Thursday afternoon from 2:30pm to 6:30pm. The duration of the course is 96 hours.
The Trade Test will take place in July 2009. It will consist of a three-hour written test and a thirty-minute trade test (oral examination).
The course fee is HK$ 8,500.*
Details on dates and application deadline will be advised at a later stage.

Preparatory Course and Trade Test for Master Chef:

The Preparatory Course and Trade test for Master Chef will commence on 2 September 2008 and will continue until 23 June 2009.
The class will be held every Tuesday from 8:30am to 6:30pm. The duration of the course is 396 hours.
The Trade Test will take place in July 2009. It will consist of a 10.5-hour written test and a 12-hour practical trade test.
The course fee is HK$ 65,000.*
Details on dates and application deadline will be advised at a later stage.
*The course fee is subject to change without prior notice.

The above information is subject to change without prior notice.

In order to process your enrolment, the following information must be submitted together with your application form http://www.vtc.edu.hk/itc/hotc/wtt/cform.pdf.

1. Recent Curriculum Vitae (Click here for a sample)
2. A copy of your Basic Food Hygiene Certification for Hygiene Supervisors/Managers
3. Two passport-sized photos
4. Copies of work certificates and recommendation letters
5. Copies of certificates and diplomas
6. Crossed cheque made payable to: “Vocational Training Council” or your credit card details

For further information, please contact:
Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre
1/F, Pokfulam Training Centre Complex
145 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
Tel: 2538 2200
Fax: 2550 0476
Website: www.hitdc.vtc.edu

Source: HKCA Newsflash August 18th, 2008
For more pictures and to read more articles from HKCA Newsflash, click here

To facilitate the trade to better understand and comply with the Nutrition Labelling Scheme, the Centre for Food Safety will conduct workshops on the subject and details are as follows:-

Workshops are open to all food traders and each workshop will last for about three hours. You and your members are cordially invited to nominate representatives to attend the workshops. Please pass the information to your members. Interested parties please complete the enrolment form at Annex and return it to us by facsimile (fax No. 2893 3547) or by post to the Risk Communication Section, 43/F, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong. Seats would be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. Those applicants who are successful will receive notification from us. Please browse our website www.cfs.gov.hk for latest information on the workshops.

For any enquiries on the matter, please contact Mr. CHO Man-kin at tel. no. 2867 5125.

(See attached file: NL Workshop_Enrolment Form.pdf)

Yours faithfully,

Rebecca KU
for Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene

Source: HKCA Newsflash August 18th, 2008
For more pictures and to read more articles from HKCA Newsflash, click here

The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) 14th term management committee was elected on 30 June 2008 and will be driving the activities of the Association for a two-year term. To officiate the appointment of the new 14th term management committee, an inauguration dinner was held at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in the National Service Resort and Country Club on 20 August 2008 (20.08.08), where the champagne was popped at 20:08 hours. Guest of Honour – Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State and Minister of Trade & Industry – was invited to witness the prestigious event.

Some new additions to the 14th term management committee are – Ricky Kok from Chang Cheng Mee Wah Holdings Pte Ltd, William Lim from Ten and Han Trading Pte Ltd, Lilian Foo from Apex-Pal International Ltd, and George Quek from BreadTalk Group Ltd. The event started off with the arrival of the guest of honour, and the address by Ang Kiam Meng, president of the RAS 14th term management committee.

Dinner comprised of a nine-course meal, whipped up by Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, which consisted of dishes such as broccoli with scallops, XO seafood fried rice, as well as tiramisu which was kindly sponsored by Bakerzin Holdings Pte Ltd. The emcee livened up the atmosphere and entertained the audience by calling all the overseas guests present up on stage, where he made them perform a short snippet of the dances their country was known for. The guests were all very sporting and did their best interpretation of the dances, which included the Chinese dance, polka dance from Switzerland, and hip hop from America.

The champagne was popped at exactly 20:08 hours and there were loud cheers and toasts to congratulate the new 14th term management committee of RAS, whose vision is to grow and develop the food and beverage industry in Singapore and to make it more vibrant. “With new members adding diversity and fresh ideas into the 14th term management committee, we are confident to face challenges ahead of us. Over the next 2 years, RAS has many initiatives lined up for members such as better membership privileges, capability building workshops to help companies better manage their business, and staff development courses to improve language proficiency and supervisory skills in an F&B environment. With these initiatives, RAS strives to realise its vision which is to play a leading role in the growth and development of the food and beverage industry in Singapore,” said Ang.

Boncafé International has launched Fairtrade coffee under its brand, introducing the ‘Colombian’ and ‘Master’ blends in Hong Kong, making it the first in Fairtrade products for Boncafé in Asia. Says Christian W. Huber, Managing Director of Boncafé International, “With Hong Kong being the first region in Asia offering Boncafé Fairtrade coffee, there are plans for us to take a similar direction in other regions as well, including Singapore, Malaysia and beyond.” He adds, “Coffee lovers and aficionados are becoming more aware of fair trading practices over the world, and they are choosing to be consumers with heart and respect, wanting to know and ensure that the products they buy and consume contribute to sustainable development… Boncafé is proud to be a part of this growing movement, and would like to support this increased awareness by doing business with partners who offer better trading conditions in the supply chain.” Boncafé’s ‘Colombian’ and ‘Master’ coffees are available in both Whole Bean (200g) and Ground (100g) packs. Foodservice packs of Whole Bean come in 454g per pack. All Fairtrade products will be available in Fair Trade and other retail outlets in Hong Kong.

PrimaDeli’s latest range of Strawberry Shortcake cakes features a delectable array of 25 candy-hued designs for your tasting pleasure! The Strawberry Shortcake range comes in various shapes and sizes, ranging from 300 grams to 3.5 kilogrammes, and even comes in miniature cupcakes, perfect for all occasions! These sponge cakes are topped with delicious flavoured whipped cream and are embellished with different images of the adorable Strawberry Shortcake printed on marzipan. Head on down to your nearest PrimaDeli today and select your favourite strawberry shortcake now!

Men – this one’s for you. For the first time ever, leading German kitchen maker Poggenpohl has teamed up with top design house Porsche Design to come up with the Poggenpohl Porsche Design Kitchen especially for men. This unique kitchen has already garnered several design awards such as the Red Dot Award for Design 2008. Its appeal stems from the fact that it is functional, not decorative; and the Poggenpohl Porsche kitchen comes in several modules, of which buyers must purchase the module with the sink and the island countertop. Other units such as ones with built-in Miele appliances, a glass display unit and the dashboard-inspired flat screen TV are optional. That’s not all – buyers can also choose between dark oak and driftwood veneers, six type of modular frameworks and five colours of glass (ranging from beige to black). The Poggenpohl Porsche Design Kitchen is available for viewing upon appointment at Kitchen Culture’s Leng Kee Road showroom from 1 September. Commercial sales will only begin in October 2008.