The organizing committee and leadership of the German Chefs' Association truly deserves our admiration and gratitute for having so successfully orchestrated this incredible showcase of global culinary prowess. It was impressive to witness how the VKD harnessed the energies, talents and dedication of over onehundred- twenty volunteers and staff, who gave the concept of organization and hospitality new meanings. Covered by over twohundred registered media representatives from all corners of the world will generate much deserved attention and publicity for all participants in the months to come.

The Culinary Olympics, more than any other event reflects our WACS philosophy with a focus on C-H-E-F, namely Cuisine, Hospitality, Education and Food. The depth, substance and quality of the show pieces and hot food entries makes the Olympics THE trendsetting culinary event worldwide, all of which will again be captured in the comprehensive publication " Kochkunst in Bildern ", available through www.ika-book.com.
My sincere congratulation go out to all competitors on their successful participation in this world-class event. Likewise, the judges preformed their task with integrity and professionalism. At the end they all demonstrated their belief in the Olympic spirit, i.e. that the journey is more important than reaching its destination.

After the final awards presentation, WACS officials and volunteers embarked on several activities. The Culinary Committee met to discuss a variety of important issues, including a proposal to fine-tune WACS approved judging criteria, competition guidelines and evolving trends. Any constructive suggestions related to these topics can be sent to the chair, Reimund Pitz, for consideration by the committee.
The Congress Committee also convened and assisted the New Zealand Organizing Committee in the development of a very exciting and food-oriented Congress program for 2006.
Finally, the WACS board discussed, among other topics, a priority list for major projects, a proposal by Reinhold Metz for a global Master Chefs Certification program, the establishment of a WACS Educational Foundation, and a centralized WACS office.
With the introduction of the www.wacscareers.com, an internet-based talent network and the exciting inaugural celebration of International Chefs' Day, conceived by Dr. Bill Gallagher, WACS demonstrated its commitment to membership services and to heightened awareness of our social responsibilities.

I hope that all of you enjoyed a safe journey home and I look forward to seeing many of you in my upcoming travels.

Fraternally yours,
Ferdinand E Metz
President
The World Association of Cooks Societies

Youth Teams and Military Teams (0ver 1,200 chefs in total) to compete in the WACS approved IKA Culinary Olympics. Since the first IKA in 2000 in Erfurt, I have seen a vastly improved interest in this show. In 2000 it was so new to Erfurt that local citizens did not get involved as they didn"t know what it was. This year I saw many locals attend as exhibitors and in some cases as competitors. When I first visited with the management of the Erfurt Messe, I told them that the IKA would put them on the world map as it will attract chefs from all over the globe and will be the Culinary World Caitol for 5 days. When I saw the media attending the Parade of Nations, I was amazed with the numbers of representatives or when I walked into the press room, the number of correspondents filing their stories to their home countries. This year World Association of Cooks Societies, and the American Culinary Federation shared a booth along with staff of Peter Knipp of Singapore and Mitch Kostuch of Canada who is providing a job placement service for WACS. This was the place where Bill Gallagher, Honorary WACS President, WACS Ambassador Sigfried Schaber were able to meet and greet many friends. October 20th marked a great celebration for the first ever declaration of that day as International Chef's Day around the world. A great idea of Chef Bill Gallagher which has come to fruitation. It gave me an opportunity to meet with potential new countries who are interested in joining WACS or providing WACS services for them. It is also nice to put a face on that email or phone correspondent.

L. Edwin Brown
Secretary General of WACS

"Today we fed approximately 20,000 children around the world," shared Gallagher with a stunned crowd (few of whom had truly assimilated the idea when it was first pitched and accepted by the world body of chefs in March this year). But judging by the news still streaming in from various countries, those who had caught on early have brought the awareness of International Chefs Day to soaring heights today, and have much to be proud of indeed.

The true camaraderie between chefs that was observed at this ceremony only served to animate the 'International' flavour of 20th October. "I hope to see many more countries marked on this map next year," said Gallagher in closing, waving his hand across the projected world map which was dotted with stars where activity had taken place that day. "Go and use your profession to promote humanity around the world."

SACA's plans for a permanent home at the Centre for Culinary Excellence at Auckland Park are - it will be officially opened in February next year. The 250 sq. meter centre will provide the hospitality industry with an interactive 'museum' housing memorabilia, videos, menus, books, on-line learning material, archives and photographs. SACA hopes that the new centre will enable their membership to grow to 5,000 within the next year and reinforce their position as the authority on cooking in South Africa.

A jubilant team captain, Chris van Wyk, proudly led the six members of the hot kitchen team onto the stage on Thursday, watched by Bill Gallagher, Martin Kobald and Arnold Tanzer, who were all in attendance for the Olympics.

The results are a huge achievement for this young team, whose average age is 32 and who have been together for just four years. The competition is incredibly tough, with some teams training for a week a month in preparation for the competition, and working together for anything up to eight years. The spirit of competitiveness is intense, and nothing less than gold is acceptable to many of the competing countries. "It has been a huge learning curve for our team. Only two of our team members had ever been to the Olympics and, although they had competed in other international competitions, they did not understand the extent of the competitiveness and the thrill of achieving gold. We are very happy with our results and I believe we now have a winning formula of skill, talent, logistical support, strong financial backing, a firm support base and a hunger for gold that this team has not seen since we were hot kitchen champions in 1982," says Garth Shnier, manager of Team South Africa.

The Team's first introduction to the Olympics came on Saturday, when all 10 team members participated in the Entry of Nations, which saw 32 countries proudly accepting medals of participation from the organisers. It set the tone for our young team, creating an excitement and spirit of competitiveness.

The team competed in the Restaurant of Nations on the first day of the competition, preparing their three-course showcase of South Africa's cuisine for 110 people in just five hours. All 110 tickets for the South African meal were sold out before the event even opened, indicating a strong international interest in our cuisine. The teams - eight per day - compete in glass-enclosed kitchens with state-of-the-art equipment and under the watchful eye of the international judges. The media attention is intense, and only five members of the team actually cook, while the team captain, in our case Ivan Willemse, comes into action only when the food is served, which takes place in restaurant style.

Only four gold medals were awarded in the hot kitchen throughout the four days of the event, giving a very clear indication from the judges of the high standards of this competition. South Africa was one of 14 countries who achieved silver in the hot kitchen, with a points total of 200, against the 220,6 points awarded to hot kitchen champion, the USA.

countries around the world in this inaugural global culinary event, which was conceptualised and made a reality by Dr Gallagher.

The total points score for the IKA Culinary Olympics, placing South Africa in 11th position overall, was as follows. Our congratulations to Sweden, Switzerland and the USA for their placement in the coveted top three positions:

Congratulations to Chris, Rudi, Garth, Marli, Bertus, Diane, Dimo, Linda, Ivan and Trevor for their exceptional results in the Olympics. All your hard work has paid off and we wish you a good rest over the next few months before our work begins again as we prepare to take South Africa into the top 10 in the next Culinary Olympics.

"I would like to thank each member of the Team for their loyalty and commitment to our national culinary team. It has been an honour to have managed such a dedicated and dynamic team," concludes Garth Shnier, manager of Team South Africa.

The industry's most influential buyers from hotels, restaurants, purchasing companies, design firms, catering and specialty foodservice establishments, dealerships, casinos, resorts and more converge on New York in November to see what's new in the industry. If you purchase or supply products or services for the lodging or foodservice

Joining Hi Europe for the very first time, we will have Food Safety & Hygiene (FSH). At FSH, all food professionals present at Hi 2004 from 16 to 18 November 2004 can get updated on the latest developments in food safety management. Highly publicised food safety incidents have increased consumers? concern over the quality of their daily nourishment and have actually led to