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Volume
1, Issue 8
April 2005
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| WACS
Features |
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From the WACS Vice President
Amidst all the politics, aggressive agendas and
business we face within the world of World Association
of Cooks Societies (WACS) I wanted to take this message
to share with you my passion of food.
I love to cook, at work, at home and with the American
Culinary Federation (ACF) National Culinary team.
In short, I am a cook in my heart and my soul.
My travels have been many and I have been blessed
to dine in some of the finest restaurants in the world,
to cook with great chefs and to explore the wonderful
world of food here in the USA and around the world
meeting so many WACS colleagues. It is something I
can say that never gets tiring, it is the most wonderful
feeling to wake up everyday and look forward to going
to work, look forward to cooking, tasting and writing
about food.
I will sit at my computer at times for hours on end
writing menus, new concepts and just doing so gets
my blood flowing my inner passion on fire as I picture
the dish I am putting on the menu, envision the presentation
of the menu for a special party..
I am consumed by food, cuisine the art of cookery
it is why I am a chef, and it is why all my life I
have struggled, I have endured personally and financial
sacrifice to follow my dreams and my pursuit of being
a chef that makes a difference. I count my blessings
to have a job I love, to have the ability to teach,
train, cook and make customers happy and at times
though very few I hope unhappy.
I am lucky to be part of such a great group called
the ACF and have had the opportunity to lead and guide
an organization that has impacted my life through
the meeting, sharing, and cooking with chefs from
all over.
I was also fortunate to be elected the Vice president
of the WACS which is an honor I would have never thought
of as a young lad in the kitchen. My mentors are many
and include such chefs as Ferdinand Metz, Fritz Sonnenschmidt,
Otto Weibel, Edwin Brown, Daniel Boulud, many chefs
from the German chefs association, Andre Soultner and
many more who are all chefs that I looked up to quietly
for different reasons be it cooking, business, personality,
their cuisine, their beliefs but most of all their passion
and who all took the time to have impact on a young
man who want to be chef someday named Edward Leonard.
I am all the better for it and have a group of friends
that would have never been if not for the great associations
of the ACF and WACS.
My greatest joy is my culinary team USA, cooking with
talented chefs, and colleagues from all of the global
community, training, pushing myself to the limits, education
and re-educating while sacrificing your personal time
all for the love of a thing called food.
Getting to cook in International arenas and competing
against the best chefs in the world, going to a WACS
congress and meeting so many with passion of cookery
is a awesome thing! Just writing all this down makes
we want to jump behind a stove and start cooking away.
I have after so many years of cooking, competiting
and traveling developed my cuisine that reflects my
belief and love for food. My cuisine is not one that
is complicated or over bearing and I am not sure when
exactly I had a cuisine to be honest. I just know that
through the years of my training, my work, my travels,
my interaction with other chefs, cooks and a strong
culinary competition background that I formed a philosophy
and belief in what should and should not be. It is also
one of the most important questions I ask chefs, cooks
and students who wish to work and study in my kitchens.
What are your philosophies and your belief in cuisine?
It is a question that provokes unfortunately little
or no response most times.
A serious student of cookery and a person who has passion
sets beliefs in what they do and why they do it. It
is one ingredient I believe separates great cooks from
good ones. Although I have always adjusted my style
from time to time with any new concepts or lessons learned,
my basic principles, my philosophy on food and the foundation
that trained me has never changed regardless of what
trends come and go. My foundation has always been my
steady rock as I moved forward in my quest to cook,
prepare and serve food of a high quality.
What happens in a professional kitchen is really a
sight to behold. I do enjoy the fact that there are
foodies and fans of chefs and cookery magazines out
there. However many of them could not conceive the amount
of work, stress and other factors that go into operating
top dining facilities. Cooking a dinner party for eight
all day based on following steps and recipes from Bon
Appetite is nice but does not cut it in the real world.
Take those eight hours and get ready for 200 or 300
meals of the highest quality and orchestrate a brigade
of cooks and chefs to follow through on your vision,
your philosophy, count on them each and every night
to make your customers happy.
My grandmother was an unbelievable cook, as my grandmother
and my mother but running a professional kitchen would
be another story.
First let's start on with what is Cuisine. Cuisine
as defined by the dictionary is "A characteristic, manner
or style of preparing food." So when a chef says my
cuisine, my philosophy on cuisine it means their belief,
or manner and certain style of preparing the food they
serve.
Sometimes it can be well or easily defined. For example
Italian cuisine is the style and manner of Italian food
using Italian food products. A chef at a restaurant
can have a defined cuisine as they drive that one operation
and feature their food. The other philosophy is the
style and belief of what one cooks and prepares regardless
of the food they are cooking.
My cuisine runs the gambit in the sense that I cross
all borders in my job, from classical French, Italian,
Spanish, Mexican, and American and so on. As my cooks
will attest to I do have a deep rooted belief on the
preparation of food and accept no shortcuts in doing
so. Years ago I learned one thing the two most important
things in creating a great dish was using the freshest
ingredients you can fine and cooking them properly.
The word properly is an interesting one and can mean
many things to many people. For me plain and simple
it means executing the fundamentals of cooking exactly,
no short cuts, no ignoring a process or step.
Sauté means just what is says, at a quick jump, little
fat, medium to high heat. You then create caramelisation
in the pan from the natural sugars of the protein, turning
the product over when it is ready not before. Then you
are removing the product so you can start the deglazing
of the pan, capturing all the natural flavors left by
the caramelisation and lifting it from the pan. You
then are making your sauce and finishing the sautéed
item by placing it back in the pan. Some may think on
a busy night it is okay to place the food in the pan
before it is hot enough, or to have the heat to high
so the caramelisation burns, or to not deglaze the pan
and so on. This is wrong as every step you do when cooking
creates flavor. It builds the flavor profile to ensure
a finished product that one can smell, feel, and taste
the results; there is no other way and no short cuts
in preparing good food period.
That is the first part of my philosophy on cuisine
sauté, roast, and grill, fry, and bake properly and
correctly. The second is respect the food, food is a
product that needs to be handled with care. It kills
me when I see so many mistreat food by storing it improperly,
handling it to many times, making it go through to many
temperature changes. One needs to understand that you
first purchase a very good quality product grown, raised
and nurtured from people who care about what they do
and take pride in producing it. Once it comes in the
door handle it with care, keep it at the desired temperature
and use it within a short time for optimum flavor and
freshness. When preparing the product butcher, filet,
cut, dice and chop carefully and handle with at least
many steps as possible. This goes a long way and is
the start of serving something pleasing to the customer.
The third is cook the item and ensure the cooking process
and accoutrements selected compliment and showcase the
main featured item. For example Dover sole is one of
the finest flat fish there is, the cost is high but
the quality and flavor is something special. If one
was to sauté and then cooks a spicy Creole sauce to
go over such a delicate and neutral tasting fish then
the fish unfortunately has died twice and the customer
never gets to experience the texture, the taste of a
great fish. If we however lightly season the fish sauté
it in some brown butter, team it up with some asparagus
poached in butter and a delicate soufflé potatoes and
laced the fish with some sea salt, creamy butter and
fresh lime then what a dish, what a memory to behold.
Presentation is just as important as people do eat
with the eyes and visuals this can make for stimulating
conversation along with "oohs" and "aahs". In my view
though many have gone through the extreme, we focus
so much on the presentation, the stunning height, the
gimmick that we lost focus on the flavor. We handle
the food so much in trying to over-achieve a presentation
that if it was a person they would call the police for
abuse. I have seen some incredible creations during
my career come out of the kitchen, only to see the food
cold, the food lack substance, the food not follow any
cooking procedure. The art of braising, roasting and
casseroles have disappeared because they cannot be presented
stunningly perhaps. Some of my most memorable dishes
where dishes that were presented in a simple and elegant
way. A cassoulet which is a stew of beans, duck, sausage
and vegetables cooked slowly for 12-16 hours then placed
in a casserole dish covered with a sautéed breadcrumb
crust that when baked would seal in all the flavors,
the juices and aromas. When this came to the table in
an elegant dish placed in a special folded napkin one
would just break open the crust and the aroma would
come pouring out, the flavors, the flavor profiles would
tell your nose to tell the rest of your senses you were
in for something special.
I have tasted a baked Alaska to die for that would
beat hands down any of these new concoctions that are
12 inches in the air with glued chocolate and sugar
all around it. Presentation as you will see in the book
is an important part of my philosophy but presentation
that is simple, elegant and adds flavor, adds to the
dish that something special that makes the taste buds
tingle and your customers happy.
Food is one of the few items that touch us all in many
ways. It is for nourishment when one eats fresh food
cooked in a flavorful and correct manner. It brings
people together in happy times such as holidays, celebrations
and sad times as well such as a meal after a funeral.
Business deals are made over meals; people get engaged,
married over sit down dinners, elaborate and simple
buffets or just a reception of finger foods. People
catch up with each over lunch or dinner and the list
goes on and on. The importance of food in culture, society
cannot be undermined.
Chefs and cooks everywhere have a responsibility to
provide meals and cuisine that makes people happy, comforts
them, and adds value to the social aspect of their meal
or event. When visiting Italy and dining in a unique
family restaurant that served everything family style
and made sure you dinner was a true experience I had
to visit with the chefs of the kitchen. The chefs turned
out to be elder Italian ladies that cooked all day with
such love, care and passion for their guest. They believed
that people were coming to their home as guest and they
treated them as such, with tasty flavorful food in season
and as much as you would like and a variety to select
from.
During our conversation one of the ladies said to me
chef, the difference between Italian people and many
Americans is that "We live to eat. Americans eat to
live." I have often thought about this and the deep
meaning of such simple words.
I have through my years judged and seen many a cook
and chef cook, some food that has truly been a pleasure
and some that has not been such a good memory. I have
always believed that the talent one is blessed with
provides the ability to create and produce cuisine that
is special and leaves you wanting for more. The craft
of cookery is truly special and to have the ability
to take raw ingredients and transform then into dishes
of dining pleasure that one gets more and more excited
with every bite is truly a talent. I at times can sound
corny when speaking of my craft beliefs. But love and
passion from the heart when in a kitchen and the ability
to have fun and to get a rush from cooking that nothing
else can give you is a secret ingredient.
To sum this up I borrowed the earlier phrase from my
Italian friends that always cooked this way, "Some cooks
live only to cook" "Other cooks cook to make a living"
a big difference in the two and the food they produce.
WACS members, follow your heart, your passion, but
most of all cook to live and live through your food
not politics and through cooking and education make
WACS a great place and home for all things culinary
in the global world.
Have a flavorful day.
Chef Edward G Leonard, CMC
Vice President
The World Association of Cooks Socities
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international personality
of the month
Alan
Palmer
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Continental
Director's Report
Please
click on the below links to view full reports |
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Europe
WACS
North Europe
March 2005
Report by Gissur Gudmundsson
[+] |
Europe
WACS
South Europe
March 2005
Report by Fausto
Airoldi
[+] |
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| WACS
News |
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WACS Appoints New PR Officer |
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 WACS
has a new face for public relations with the appointment
of Aina Keller. The 40-year-old works as a freelance
journalist in Germany and contributes as the press
officer for the German Chefs Association (VKD). Keller
has a strong background in the hospitality industry,
having previously trained in the Atlantic Hotel Kempinski,
Hamburg, Hotel Europäischer Hof in Heidelberg/Germany
and in the Westin Copley Place in Boston, MA/USA.
She then moved to five years of editorial work in
trade magazines when in 1997, opened her own editor's
and public relations office, Textvision. She has focused
on the hospitality and culinary industry and headed
public relations and the press bureau at the IKA/Culinary
Olympics 2004 in Erfurt/Germany where almost 300 journalists
from all over the world were registered. Aina's main
assignment for the chefs of the world will be to align
the international publications on WACS activities,
events and statements.
Keller can be contacted at
Textvision, 22459 Hamburg, Germany, (49) 0 40
555 300 20,
Fax (49) 0 40 555 300 20, Mobile (49) 0 171
8180475. She can also be emailed at wacs@textvision.de
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Cooking
with Coffee |
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 Melitta
SystemServices, Minden/Germany, the German Chefs Association
(VKD) and the German Chefs magazine KÜCHE recently
concluded the "Cooking with Coffee" competition. The
Melitta Cup was first announced in Erfurt during the
Culinary Olympics 2004 where chefs from Europe were
asked to participate in this innovative competition.
Over 33 chefs signed up to compete where they had
to create a four-course set menu where coffee, in
any form, must appear. Of the entries, six were chosen
and the finalists battled for four hours at Erfurt
to prepare their competition menu for ten persons.
After much deliberation, the members of the jury,
Klaus-Wilfried Meyer, Siegfried Schaber, Martin Öxle
and Marian Schneider announced the three winners of
the Melitta Cup at the Internorga trade fair on 8
March 2005. The first place winner was chef Heiko
Antoniewicz with Thomas Brunk and Johannes Goll coming
in second and third place respectively.
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Egypt
Participates In Mediterranean Extravaganza |
 Upon
the kind invitation of the Malta Tourist Authority
and the Malta Cookery & Food Association, the Egyptian
Chefs Association (ECA) was honoured to send its member
chefs to participate in the Mediterranean Food Festival
held this March in Valetta, Malta. Accompanied by
the ECA's Membership Coordinator, Jacqueline Jampen,
two of ECA's finest chef members, Abdel Moneim Khashaba
from Louis Cruises and Ashraf Osman from the Semiramis
InterContinental Cairo headed out to give visitors
a taste of the wonderful Egyptian food. This year's
festival gathered the culinary delights from nine
Mediterranean nations, including Tunisia, Morocco,
Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt and of
course Malta all under one roof.
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Battle
Of The Chefs 2005 |
 To
carry on the success in their Moffat Salon 2004, the
Fiji Chef Association is proud to announce the Battle
of the Chefs 2005. The competition is also a stepping
stone compete with the world's best at The Hans Bueschkens
World Junior Chefs Challenge which is part of the
WACS World Congress 2006 in Auckland New Zealand.
The Battle of the Chefs, which is a Mystery Box Competition,
is eligible to all Junior Chefs born after 10th March
1983.Competitors will be provided with a mystery box
of ingredients. The task is to produce a Main Course
and Dessert for two covers, individually plated, within
110 minutes. Glenn Austin, Continental Director for
the World Association of Cooks Societies is to be
the Chief Judge for this competition with Pip Duncan
from New Zealand and John Clough from Moffat New Zealand
completing the Judging Panel.
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Egypt's
National Salon Culinaire 2005 In June |
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The Egyptian Chefs Association is organizing the National
Salon Culinaire 2005 which will take place in June 2005
in Cairo, Egypt. The event is the largest one-day culinary
show in Egypt, attended by hundreds of key-personalities
and professionals of the hospitality industry every
year. This year's national chef's competition offers
13 different culinary categories to choose from.
For full program plus rules and regulations please
visit ECA's website at www.egyptchefs.com
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Perry
Yuen Re-elected President |
 Incumbent
president Perry Yuen was unanimously re-elected to
this second term in office at the recent Hong Kong
Chefs Association (HKCA) Annual General Meeting held
at the Harbour Plaza Hotel. Yuen also asked Rudy Muller
and Angus Cheng to continue their positions as Vice
President and Treasurer respectively. In his address
to the members, Yuen said his top priority is to provide
educational opportunities for young chefs and to achieve
a higher professional standard among chefs. The other
points of interest raised during the AGM was that
the total membership of the HKCA has increased 5%
from last year for a total of 200 members and that
the surplus in their budget increased by over 35%
over 2003. Of note, HKCA has also contributed HK$15,000
to the Tsunami relief fund of the Hong Kong Jockey
Club which matched the donation, bringing the total
to HK$30,000 donated.
For more information on the HKCA, visit http://www.hongkong-chefs.com
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The
InterContinental Dubai collects 25 Medals At The Salon
Culinaire 2005 |
 The
InterContinental Dubai team of chefs, headed by executive
chef Uwe Micheel were ranked highly in the Salon Culinaire
2005 competition held in conjuction with the 10th
Gulf Food, Hotel and Equipment Exhibition from 20th
till 23rd February 2005. The establishment also came
in at second place as the best Hotel Cooperator of
the exhibition. Among the 25 medals they were awarded,
the InterContinental Dubai scooped up 3 gold medals
for practical and team event Ice Carving, and also
won 4 Silver medals in Practical Cookery and Fruits
and Vegetable and Ice Carving. Chef Uwe Micheel was
especially recognised for his dedication and received
a special token of appreciation for outstanding team
work by Bill Gallager, Honorary President of the World
Association of Cooks Societies (WACS). "I am very
pleased with the results my team has achieved this
year at the Salon Culinaire. I strongly support activities
and exhibitions of this sort because I believe that
this builds up strong abilities in teamwork and brings
out the best in Chefs and Cooks", said Chef Micheel.
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Singapore
Culinary Team Strikes Gold In Dubai |
 At the end of the Salon Culinaire 2005 held in Dubai, which concluded on 23 February, Singapore emerged the gold medal winners despite tough competition from the other national teams. The Singapore contingent which was led by Randy Chow, won the overall gold medal with the Swiss and Germans winning the silver. In celebration On 7 March 2005, the Oriental, Singapore toasted the Singapore Chef Association's team for winning one gold medal each, as well as congratulating them for winning the International Championship at the Salon Culinaire 2005.
For more information, visit www.singaporechefs.com
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Welsh
World Culinary Grand Prix Team |
The Welsh National Culinary Team made two changes
to the bronze medal winning line-up at last October's
Culinary Olympics in Germany, with Danny Burke and
junior team captain Hefin Roberts called up. Nick
Davies has agreed to take on the role of team logistics
manager for the competition, from April 25-28 2005,
so his vice captain's mantle passes to Wayne Roberts,
chef partner of The Waterfront Restaurant, Trearddur
Bay. The full team is manager Graham Tinsley, co-owner
of the Castle Hotel, Conwy, captain Lee Jeynes, head
chef at Crag Brow Hotel, Bowness on Windermere and
pastry chef Karl Jones-Hughes, co-owner of The Bridge,
Coxlake, Narberth. The KNORR World Culinary Grand
Prix is held in conjunction with ScotHot every four
years and brings together 12 of the world's best national
culinary teams for hot kitchen and cold buffet tables
competitions. One of just six global competitions
accredited by the World Association of Cooks' Societies
(WACS), this prestigious event is organised in conjunction
with the Federation of Chefs Scotland. The Welsh National
Culinary Team is sponsored by the Welsh Development
Agency to promote the food and drink industry brand
'True Taste' and by C&C Catering Equipment Ltd, Brakes,
Unilever Foodsolutions UK, Catering Engineers (N.W.)
Ltd and Hybu Cig Cymru/ Meat Promotion Wales and Vin
Sullivan Foods, Abergavenny.
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Update
on 10th Penang International Salon Gastronomique
2005 |
 Over
250 chefs from Thailand, Japan, Singapore and
Malaysia have signed up to compete in the Battle
of the Chefs competition to be held at the Grand
Plaza Parkroyal, Penang in Batu Ferringhi from
19 to 21 April 2005. 20 judges from South Africa,
Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia
have also confirmed their attendance at the
premier event in the Malaysian F&B calendar.
Initiated in Penang in 1998 with only 60 local
chefs, the event has since expanded to include
almost 300 chefs last year. This year, chefs
will compete in over 500 classes of competitions
such as butter sculptures, buffet platter and
ice carving. Showmanship also carries points
in events such as Penang Char Koay Teow and
bartender's competition.
For the full list of categories
and to read the organising chairman Andy Oh
Thye Peng's message, visit www.campg.org
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New
President of Norwegian Chefs |
 On
13th of March, the Norwegian Chefs Association convened
a meeting to select a new board and new president
for the next two years. Among the nominees, Håkon
Reigstad was selected President. Håkon has been working
for a long time with the Norwegian Chefs and for the
past few years held the position of Vice-President.
Together with Håkon the Norwegian chefs select Frode
Myklevik, Kristine
H. Hartviksen, Stian
Haugnes, Øyvind
Barø into the board.
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Norway
Cup for Cook and Waiter Apprentices 2005 |
Norway cup for apprentices recently concluded in Stavanger,
Norway with the waiter team that emerged champions
coming restaurant Statholdergaarden in Oslo comprising
of Ingvill Bentsen and Jon A. Lysebo. The Norway Cup
is an annual competition based on voluntary work by
members in the guild of Rogaland. It's the biggest
competition for apprentices in Norway. The winning
team qualifies to the Nordic competition for apprentices.
The competition was held over three days of high tension
and joy; two days of semi-finals and one day finale.
23 teams of cooks competed against each other with
6 teams qualifying to compete in the final.
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Nordic Congress 2005 |
 The
Danish Chefs Association will hold the 34th Nordic
Congress in Copenhagen from 29 April to 1 May 2005.
They wish all the delegates and accompanying persons
who will be attending a warm welcome and hope that
the conference will strengthen friendship and solidarity
between members in the future. At the same time the
Danish Chefs will arrange for the Nordic Chef of the
Year competition on 30th of April in Copenhagen, with
one chef from each of the Nordic countries will competing
for the title. Together with this competition the
Nordic Chefs Association will hold the annual Judging
School where only two people carefully selected from
each of the five Nordic Countries will participate.
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Swedish Chef of the Year |
 Stefan
Eriksson from Jerrhag & Eriksson Gastronomy in Stockholm
won the Chef of the Year competition in Sweden 2005.
The task was making a modern Nordic lunch menu.
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| Industry
News |
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The
Kitchen Gods |
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Michelob celebrates Asian America's best
chefs with a calendar called The Kitchen
Gods - Celebrating Asian America's Best
Chefs. The 13-month calendar profiles
Asian American chefs who are members of
the Asian
Chefs Association (ACA). Each month
features an Asian chef and a recipe including
one of the products from the Michelob
family in creative ways. Products in the
calendar from the Michelob family include
Michelob, Michelob Light, Michelob ULTRA
and AmberBock. Notable Asian chefs and
their recipes include: Roy Yamaguchi,
Michelob ULTRA Marinated & Grilled Tako
Seaweed Salad with Maui Onion Soy Dressing,
Martin Yan, New Year's Firecracker Shrimp,
Ming Tsai, Savory AmberBock Braised Oxtail
with Preserved Lemon Polenta, Christopher
Yeo, Origami Salmon and Khai Duong, Michelob
Chicken with Button Mushrooms among others.
Visit http://www.asianbud.com/mich_cal2005.pdf
to view the calendar.
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Curious
Cook Develops Gourmet Line |
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 Ed
Bottone, better known as the Curious Cook has
launched a new product line from Goslings Gourmet
that he developed in kitchen. The new line,
which uses Bermuda's Rum and the Black Seal
Rum as the key ingredient, include dishes such
as cocorumba double chocolate cake, gombey passionate
plum and mango tango habanero glaze and dipping
sauce. The nine products are inspired by Bermuda
cocktail and contain ingredients that Bermudans
are familiar with. Bottone, who lived in Bermuda
for ten year teamed up with Gosling's in 2003
to develop the gourmet line. The products come
in different sizes and will be available in
Bermuda first week of April. The Americans will
get their taste of it in July at a food show
in New York.
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Hell's
Kitchen for Celebrity Chefs |
Celebrity chefs Gary Rhodes and Jean Christophe
Novelli are preparing to go head to head in
the new series of Hell's Kitchen. The show consists
of two teams of ten competing against each other
to whip up a cuisine for celebrity diners each
night. This season, both chefs will have only
two weeks to get their trainees in shape and
Rhodes, known for his classic British food wants
to prove that it is as good as the French cuisine.
The teams will be battling it out for the chance
to run their own restaurant and viewers will
get the chance to see the titans clash when
the show airs this coming spring.
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Shangri-La
Dubai Seeks Vietnamese Chef |
The Shangri-La, Dubai is looking for a native
Vietnamese chef. The chef should have relevant
professional experience and excellent job knowledge.
He/she must also have good leadership qualities.
Please send your CVs to Philipp Koechli, at
philip.koechli@shagri-la.com,
call (971) 4405 2750 or fax (971) 4343 8704.
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New Chocolate
Book |
 Famous
chocolate makers Philippe Bertrand and Philippe
Marand have presented their creations and innovations
in a book titled "Chocolate Designs". The first
book in the Les Indispensables collection has
more than 70 commercial chocolate pieces inspired
by animals, childlike folding, architecture
and design. Each creation has detailed instructions
accompanied by pictures of the steps involved.
Other than that, the book also contains general
information such as histories, processing of
chocolate and basic techniques. The book was
published on 20 February 2005 and is available
in English, French or Japanese.
For more information, call Terry Henderson
at (1) 8774 0232 21.
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Tio Pepe ITV
London Restaurant Awards 2005 |
The nominees for the prestigious Tio Pepe ITV
London Restaurant Awards have been announced
and for the Outstanding London Chef 2005, Tom
Aikens, Rainer Becker, T.C Hwee, Rowley Leigh
and Shane Osborn have been short listed. Amaya,
Cipriani, Inn the Park, Rasol Vinheet Bhatia,
Roka and Yauatcha were nominated for Best New
Restaurant 2005. The six restaurants nominated
for London Restaurant Academy Award of Excellence
2005 are Cambio de Terco, Fino, Nobu, St. John
and Tom Aikens. Other categories include Outstanding
Wine List, Best Gastro Pub and Best British,
French, Italian and Oriental Restaurant. The
winners of the awards will be announced on 4
April at The Great Room, Marriott Grosvenor
House Hotel, Park Lane which will be hosted
by ITV News presenter Mary Nightingale and other
celebrities looking on.
For Awards Dinner tickets and more information,
call (44) 0207 843 8214, email catriona.bull@itv.com
or log onto www.itv.com/restaurantawards
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New Members
for Hospitality Alliance Singapore |
Three new organisations were officially welcomed
into the Hospitality Alliance Singapore at a
signing ceremony on 9 March 2005 in the presence
of 100 invited members from the hospitality
industry. The Association of Room Division Executives,
Les Clefs d'or Singapore and Singapore Chefs
Association have joined with the Association
of Singapore Housekeepers, the Food and Beverage
Managers' Association, and the Hospitality of
Purchasing Association to form the new six-association
alliance. The Alliance members have pledged
to work together in developing and sustaining
a hospitality industry-friendly business environment
in Singapore. In an effort to ensure positive
growth in Singapore's hotels and restaurants,
the Alliance will provide access to education
and training programmes, negotiate value-added
supplier discounts and develop industry communication
and networking opportunities for the benefit
of all its members.
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| Press
Releases |
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World
Association of Cooks Societies Expands Links to
23 Other Job Sites |
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ERFURT, GERMANY -- The World Association of Cooks
Societies (WACS) Job Board, launched late last year
in partnership with the 22-partner Hospitality Talent
Network (www.hospitalitytalentnetwork.com)
, has a new international partner, ExpoWorld.net Ltd.
(www.expoworld.com).
Now a candidate resumé or job opportunity listed on
the WACS career service at www.wacscareers.com will
have that posting automatically placed on all 23 food
and hospitality industry association and media job
boards. A job posted on any one partner site is immediately
posted on all 23 partner job boards.
ExpoWorld.net Ltd. publishes a comprehensive reference
manual supported by seven Internet Web sites for use
by the international tradeshow and exhibition industry
including events planners, facility providers, trade
and consumer show operators and industry suppliers.
ExpoWorld president John Passalacqua commented, "ExpoWorld
services are used by international business professionals
as a tremendous marketing tool and an excellent opportunity
for direct-business expansion throughout North America
and the world."
Launched at the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung
(IKA) 2004 World Culinary Olympics in Erfurt last
fall, www.wacscareers.com is now a key component of
WACS world-wide service to its members. WACS is a
global network of chefs associations first founded
in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris. Today, this
global body has 72 official national chefs associations
as members with a combined world-wide membership of
more than 1.2 million.
The Hospitality Talent Network (HTN) links leading
catering, foodservice, hospitality, travel and tourism
partners representing industry associations, colleges
and universities and media. Powered by an advanced
Web-based business-to-applicant recruitment solution,
HTN uses standardized, industry-specific profiles
to match candidates against job opportunities with
great precision - making the process faster, easier
and smarter for both employers and job seekers. A
job posted on any one partner site is immediately
posted on all 22 other partner job boards.
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Welsh
Chefs Chosen For World Culinary Grand Prix
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A team of Welsh chefs has been selected to carry the nation's hopes in the KNORR World Culinary Grand Prix in Glasgow next month.
The Welsh National Culinary Team shows two changes to the bronze medal winning line-up at last October's Culinary Olympics in Germany, with Danny Burke and junior team captain Hefin Roberts called up.
Burke, a development chef for food service company Brakes in Flint and Roberts, head chef at Cobdens Restaurant, Capel Curig, replace Nick Davies, chef development manager for Cambrian Training Company, Welshpool and Kurt Fleming, head chef at The Bell, Skenfrith, in the starting line-up.
Davies has agreed to take on the role of team logistics manager for the competition, from April 25-28, so his vice captain's mantle passes to Wayne Roberts, chef partner of The Waterfront Restaurant, Trearddur Bay.
The full team is manager Graham Tinsley, co-owner
of the Castle Hotel, Conwy, captain Lee Jeynes, head
chef at Crag Brow Hotel, Bowness on Windermere and
pastry chef Karl Jones-Hughes, co-owner of The Bridge,
Coxlake, Narberth.
The back up members are Toby Beevers, sales support manager for Woodward Foodservice, Flint, Kevin Williams, head chef at Hurst House, East Marsh, Laugharne, Jimmy Williams of The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno and junior team members Gary Griffiths, of The Castle Hotel, Conwy and Adam Taylor, of Hotel Maes-y-neuadd, Talsarnau, Harlech.
Mr Tinsley said to be considered for selection Welsh chefs had to submit entries for last month's Welsh International Salon Culinaire in Llandudno and he had been impressed by the standard of work presented.
"All the team members won gold medals and best in class, which was very pleasing," he added. "Danny has competed with the team before and it's natural progression to promote Hefin because he has experience of the hot and cold competitions with the junior team, which he captained to a gold medal at the Culinary Olympics.
"It's going to be a busy year because, following ScotHot, the senior team will also be competing at the European Culinary Challenge in Basel, Switzerland from November 19-23."
The KNORR World Culinary Grand Prix is held in conjunction with ScotHot every four years and brings together 12 of the world's best national culinary teams for hot kitchen and cold buffet tables competitions.
One of just six global competitions accredited by the World Association of Cooks' Societies (WACS), this prestigious event is organised in conjunction with the Federation of Chefs Scotland.
The Welsh National Culinary Team is sponsored by the Welsh Development Agency to promote the food and drink industry brand 'True Taste' and by C&C Catering Equipment Ltd, Brakes, Unilever Foodsolutions UK, Catering Engineers (N.W.) Ltd and Hybu Cig Cymru/ Meat Promotion Wales and Vin Sullivan Foods, Abergavenny.
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WACS
Appoints New PR Officer |
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Aina
Keller is the newly-appointed PR person for WACS.
The 40-year-old works as a freelance journalist in
Germany and already contributes as the press officer
for the German Chefs Association (VKD).
Born 1964 in Freetown/Sierra Leone, Aina has been
trained in the Atlantic Hotel Kempinski Hamburg as
a management assistant in hotel and hospitality. She
worked in the Hotel Europäischer Hof in Heidelberg/Germany
and in the Westin Copley Place in Boston, MA/USA.
Aina has attended the Hotel Management School in Heidelberg
from 1990-1992 and achieved a bachelor degree in Hotel
Management. She received further training in a publishing
house in Hamburg/Germany where she served an apprenticeship
as an editor and worked five years for several trade
magazines.
In 1997 Aina established her own editor's and pr office,
Textvision, in Hamburg/Germany and has been working
as a freelancer since then. Focussing on the hospitality
and culinary industry, she had been freelance editor
for the VKD magazine KÜCHE from 1996 to 2004, she
is working for several trade and corporate magazines
and has founded her own hotel magazine in 2001. Furthermore,
Aina was in charge of the public relations and the
press bureau at the IKA/Culinary Olympics 2004 in
Erfurt/Germany where almost 300 journalists from all
over the world were registered.
Her profound food and beverage knowledge gives Aina
the necessary background for communication tasks and
her experience on the editorial side covers the interest
of journalists. Aina's main assignment for the chefs
of the world will be to align the international publications
on WACS activities, events and statements.
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| Events |
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World
Gourmet Summit 2005 |
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 The
highly successful World Gourmet Summit (WGS) is coming
to Singapore once again. Held from 18 to 29 April
2005, WGS is Asia's foremost gastronomic event, hosting
12 internationally- acclaimed star chefs and eight
winemakers from prestigious wineries. With events
such as Masterclass Safaris, Culinary Workshops, Wine
Tastings, Vinter Dinners and more, it is an experience
not to be missed. One can also taste the cuisine of
Iconic Chef Alain Passard and hear the adventurous
tales of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
To reserve seats for WGS events, book
them at http://www.worldgourmetsummit.com/wgs2005/reservations/reservations.htm
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Food
Expo Egypt 2005 |
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 From
25 to 28 April 2005, Arab's largest country will hold
a food expo at the Cairo International Conference Centre,
Egypt. It attracts visitors from over 25 countries and
features exhibitions in six categories, which are food
and beverage, catering equipment and services, processing
and packaging, furniture, furnishing and tableware,
health, leisure and entertainment and hotel facilities.
Twenty-one countries participated in last year's event,
including Singapore, Turkey, India, Hong Kong and the
UK.
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SIAL
Montréal 2005 International Food Exhibition |
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 SIAL
Montréal 2005 International Food Exhibition will be
held at the Palais des congrès in Montréal, Québec,
Canada from 13 to 15 April 2005. With 735 exhibitors
from 40 countries, this is the international gathering
of professionals of the food sector in North America.
There are 12 industry sectors on display, including
diary products, meat products, seafood, fruits and vegetable,
grocery products, organic products etc.
For more information, call (514) 289 9669, ext 2239
or E-mail mcano@sialmontreal.ca
or visit www.sialmontreal.com/home.ch2
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IFE
Poland, 2005 |
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From 19 to 21 April 2005, IFE Poland 2005 will take
place at Expo XXI in Warsaw, Poland. Last year, this
International Food, Drink and Hospitality Exhibition
hosted 291 exhibitors from 24 different countries with
ten international pavilions from Austria, Bulgaria,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Singapore,
Spain and the USA. The sectors include bakery and confectionary,
cheese and dairy, chilled foods and delicatessen, frozen
foods and ice cream etc. This year, The Dairy Pavilion
and the Meat Pavilion, as well as an Innovative Products
Zone will be a new addition to the exhibition.
For more information, visit here
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Helsinki
Beer Festival 2005 |
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 On
1 and 2 April 2005, the Cable Factory in Helsinki
will hold the Helsinki Beer Festival 2005. Known for
its Beer of the Year awards, the festival will have
competitions for the best beers, whiskies and ciders
from all over the world, judged by professional judges
in different categories. The first of the two-day
event is solely dedicated to the trade, inviting buyers,
restaurant staff and media. The rest of the event
is open to the public where they can also enjoy live
performances by Finnish bands. This year, the special
theme will be beers from the countries surrounding
the Baltic Sea, such as Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.
For more information, visit here
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Hotelex
Shanghai 2005 |
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 Hotelex
Shanghai 2005 will be held from 6 April to 9 April
at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. This
event provides the highest number of local and international
exhibitors and visitors in China. Besides catering
to the Chinese market, an increasing number of buyers
also attend this event to source for products. Some
of the categories of exhibitions are kitchen equipments,
cutlery and crockery and spas and saunas. Most of
the attendees of this event are from cities such as
Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Beijing amongst others.
For more information, visit www.hotelex.cn
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Ifia
Japan 2005 |
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Celebrating it's 10th anniversary in Asia, the International
Food Ingredients & Additives Exhibition and Conference
(ifia) is a business trade show with more than 350
exhibitors from 15 countries. The exhibitors will
display the latest ingredients, products and technology.
Held at Tokyo International Exhibition Centre Halls
4 and 5 from 26 to 28 April 2005, the exhibition will
also co-host the 3rd Healthy Food Exhibition & Conference
and International Food Packaging Expo & Conference.
For more information, visit http://www.ifiajapan.com/en/ifia/index.html
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IFEX
19 |
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 IFEX,
Ireland's most comprehensive food, drink and hospitality
exhibition, is now firmly established as the leading
trade event for the industry. It is the major showcase
for both domestic and international traders. IFEX
provides an unrivalled business opportunity for Irish
companies and a unique opportunity for international
suppliers to promote their products in the fast developing
Irish market. IFEX will be held from 18 to 20 April
2005 at RDS, Simmonscourt.
For more information, visit http://www.expo-events.com/ifex.htm
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ScotHot
2005 |
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 ScotHot,
which is the only major hospitality exhibition for
Scotland and the north of England, will be taking
place from 25 to 28 April 2005 at the SECC, Glasgow.
12,000 visitors are expected at the show and 350 exhibiting
companies will showcase a diverse range of products
and services specifically tailored for the hospitality
sector.
For more information, visit http://site.org.uk/scothot/
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HOFEX
2005 |
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 Fresh
produce, wine, spirits & beers, beverages non-alcoholic
meat and poultry, confectionary, gourmet food. Products
on show at HOFEX are guaranteed exposure to more than
30,000 quality buyers from Hong Kong, China and around
the Asia-Pacific region. Held from the 10 to 13 May
at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre,
the event is one of the most anticipated exhibitions
on the trade calendar. Among the highlights of the
event are the International Bartenders' Cocktail Competition
and the Hong Kong International Culinary Classic Competition
which will be fiercely contested.
For more information, visit
http://www.hofex.com/
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Thaifex
2005 |
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World Food of Asia will further expand and re-brand
itself as Thaifex. The event will be held at the Impact
Exhibition Centre of Bangkok from 18 to 22 May 2005.
The product range will cover food and drink, food
technology, catering, franchise systems and hotel
and restaurant supplies. Groups from Australia, China,
Germany, France, Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan and Turkey have already registered
for the event. A special highlight of the event will
be the "Tea and Coffee Zone", which allows producers,
importers, marketers and refiners to market their
products. The World Halal Conference will also be
held during Thaifex.
For more information, visit http://www.worldoffoodasia.com/
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| WACS
Website Powered by: |
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If you would like to see your WACS related
stories published in this E-Newsletter kindly email us the
details at: ezine@wacs2000.org |
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Be a WACS
Partner!
The
World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) website reaches
out to a wide network of more than 8 million member chefs
across 72 countries. As a Partner for
www.wacs2000.org,
you have the opportunity to position your organisation at
the forefront of culinary communications and reach out to
chefs across the
globe.
For
more information on how to be part of this dynamic network,
please contact
us
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