WACS ANNOUNCES "GLOBAL CHEFS CHALLENGE" COMPETITION
Unilever Foodsolutions is a Sponsor to the Competition

The World Association of Cooks' Societies (WACS), representing about eight million chefs around the world, proudly announces the Global Chefs Challenge, the first worldwide chefs' competition ever.

The preliminary competition will begin in 2006, when each of the 72 WACS member countries will have the opportunity to hold a culinary competition to select their country's Global Chef candidate. In 2007, those winners will move on to the continental competition to represent Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Pacific and Europe. In 2008, the continental winners will compete at the final competition at the WACS World Congress in Dubai.

Unilever Foodsolutions will be a sponsor of this competition. "We at Unilever Foodsolutions are excited to be associated with this competition and to be a major sponsor of the World Association on a global level," said Norman Clubb, President and Chief Operating Officer of Unilever Foodsolutions North America. "This is just one more way of showing our long-standing commitment to the support of culinary arts around the world." With such globally recognized brands as Knorr®, Hellmann's®, Becel® and Lipton®, Unilever Foodsolutions is a major worldwide supporter both of global WACS activities and local culinary organizations.

The World Association of Cooks' Societies (WACS) is a non-political professional organization, dedicated to maintaining and improving the culinary standards of global cuisines. These goals are accomplished through education, training and professional development of the international membership. As an authority and opinion leader on food, WACS represents a global voice on all issues related to the culinary profession.

GH05/05

 

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The Federation of Chefs Scotland have elected Joe Queen as president succeeding Tony Jackson who has held office for the last 4 years. Joe Queen is currently Executive Chef for Macdonald Hotels Edinburgh. He will be ably assisted by vice-president Kevin McGillivray , Executive Chef at Balathie House Hotel, Perthshire. Kevin is a past Scottish Chef of the Year and Scottish Culinary Team member.

 

The Hong Kong Chefs Association (HKCA) is collaborating with Unilever Foodsolutions in publishing "Hong Kong Chefs in Action", a charity cookbook that will be published in late October in conjunction with International Chefs' Day. HKCA is soliciting for recipes (a maximum of two recipes per chef) to be featured in the cookbook which will also have chef biographies and pictures of the dishes selected. The deadline for submissions is 8 August 2005.

Stephen Giunta of Cargill Meat Solutions and Olivier Andreini of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) are the two current certified master chefs by the American Culinary Federation (ACF). They matriculated the grueling eight-day test of culinary craft and expertise at CIA's main campus and obtained the highest level of culinary achievement in the U.S. foodservice industry. Having been formerly certified as executive chefs, both were assessed on cognition and mastery cooking techniques, and theory of international and regional cuisines. The newly crowned chefs bring the number of certified master chefs in the United States to 72.

For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org

 

The Hong Kong Chef Association, together with Griottines ® are organising the Griottines Grand Prix 2005 which will take place end September in the kitchens of HITDC Pokfulam. The aim of the event is to encourage young professionals to work and compete in a team environment to display their creativity, skills and talents. Participating teams are requested to send a set of recipes together with photos of the dishes (main dish and dessert) and send it to the following address: P.O. BOX. 91614, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Kowloon. The deadline for submissions is 3 September 2005; the 10 finalists will be contacted individually by the organizer after preliminary judge.

For more details of the event, visit here

 

In August 2005 at Infochef Cape, the South African Chefs Association will be hosting a Mini Salon Culinaire in four categories - according to World Association of Cooks Societies guidelines - and will be presenting gold, silver and bronze medals in each category. The specialised skills of culinary art will be showcased for delegates to view on the day at Cape Town Hotel School , giving chefs an opportunity to display their skills, gain experience in cold table competition work, and attract the attention of National Culinary Team selectors.

The Egypt Chefs Association (ECA) are giving chefs a hand in adapting to the increasing technological demands of the modern kitchen with new computer courses to help with efficient administration and organisation. The classes, conducted in Arabic, will be held from September to December will include courses on Windows XP, Microsoft Word, Internet and Email and Microsoft Excel.

For more information, visit www.egyptchefs.com

The Swedish Chef Association's highest award, the Tore Wretman Gold Medal, comes in two categories. In Category 1, the medal is given to persons who works as a professional chef, and through their culinary skills have become famous. Their work must also positively highlight Swedish culinary art, nationally and internationally and for Category 2, it highlights the contributions of a person who represent media, institutions, food business or other companies that align their businesses with the goal of profiling Swedish culinary art. For 2005, the award winners are Christer Lingström, Edsbacka krog and Lina Wallentisson, Magazine Restaurang & Storkök in Categories 1 and 2 respectively. The Swedish Chef Association would like to congratulate them on their awards.

For more information, visit www.nkf-chefs.com

In the latest Egyptian Chefs newsletter, the ECA has announced that the National Salon Culinaire'05 CD is now for sale at the ECA office for LE 50 for ECA Members and LE 80 for Non-Members. The CD is a photographic reportage of all the exhibits of the National Salon Culinaire'05. More than 600 photographs are listed with names of the chefs who made the exhibits and the awards achieved. See a preview of pictures here. The newsletter also gives information on the latest activities and workshops that the ECA have organised such as training workshops on Hygiene, HACCP in practice and ECA Chefs’ outings.

To keep updated with the ECA, sign up for their informative newsletter at www.egyptchefs.com

Alan Palmer, WACS Honorary Life Member, who has been instrumental in aiding the Sri Lanka citizens affected by the Indian Ocean has sent an update regarding the WACS contributions.

View the short report with pictures here

Come 26 October to 29 October 2005, at the Crocus-Expo, Moscow, the ) 8th International Exhibition "PIR. Hospitality Industry" will be organised in support of the RF Ministry of economic development and trade and Restaurateurs & Hoteliers Federation of Russia. Over the years, the interest of western companies for participation in the exhibition has grown, and this proves to be a positive tendency for the industry. As the exhibitors and visitors noted, the part of foreign participants who wanted to enter the Russian market had increased greatly. Do visit the exhibition for connections to interesting programmes and important exhibitors in the industry.

For more information, visit www.pir.ru.

 

Held from 5 September to 9 September 2005, the conference serves as a discussion forum for all food industry professionals involved in food safety and largest gathering of food safety professionals. Programmes include a conference speaker programme, conference dinner, opening drinks and entertainment, social evening, and many more industry related activities.

World's Food Expo 2005, Philippines' biggest and most anticipated food show, will be held from August 3 to 6, 2005 at the World Trade Center, Metro Manila, Philippines. WOFEX continues to be the food and beverage industry's main source of supply solutions. The phenomenal rise of the event in terms of exhibitor bookings, visitor traffic and sales generated has reinforced its growing importance in the industry. Events at WOFEX 2005 include exhibitions like the baker's fair as well as a series of demonstrations and culinary competitions.

For more information, visit www.worldsfoodexpo.com

Exhibitors from North America, China, Japan, Korean, Malaysia, India, ASEAN and the Pacific Rim will converge in New York city and Los Angeles at the All Asia Food Expo, to be held from 12 September to 13 September 2005, to provide you with an Asian food and beverage sourcing showcase where you will find new and authentic products in a one-stop shopping environment. There will be more than a dozen educational conference sessions featuring key industry insights and business development ideas to streamline your costs, introduce new menu items and grow your business. There will also be a talk and book signing by expert chef Anthony Bourdain.

For more information, visit www.allasiafood.com

 

Come 4 August to 6 August 2005, visit New Delhi, India for the Banana Festival and Conference 2005. India, with its rich bio-diversity of banana and plantain, is the largest producer and consumer with estimated production of 16 million tonnes of bananas annually. India's domestic production alone exceeds the entire world trade. The exhibition will provide for a wide national and global audience, enable exposure towards stakeholders and facilitate commercialization of banana for its nutritional, medicinal, handicraft, small-scale industrial and various other uses.

For more information, visit www.commoditymart.com

Discover new products and services, learn about recent industry developments, and establish new relationships with others involved in these exciting industries at the 2005 Tea & Coffee World Cup Exhibition. Held from 11 September to 13 September 2005 at the Hamburg Messe Exhibition Center, this year' s Tea and Coffee World Cup Hamburg is a three-day comprehensive marketplace for tea and coffee products and ideas. With more than 300 growers, exporters, importers, coffee roasters, equipment manufacturers and tea packers from more than 140 countries expected to exhibit, Hamburg is expected to exceed their seven previous shows in quality and quantity of exhibitors and attendees. As the tea and coffee industry leaders expand, they will be looking to our industry-leading show for contacts and business opportunities.

For more information, visit www.tcworldcup.net

This weekend event to be held from 27 August to 28 August 2005, 1 pm to 5 pm daily, will showcase more than 300 award-winning wines from around the world and top culinary experts hosting food and wine seminars. The festival also features nationally known jazz acts including Nelson Rangell and fine artists from around the US. So kindle a sashay into your step with a sophisticated, two day affair in the heart of Keystone.

For more information, visit www.keystoneresort.com