SWEDISH DEFENDING CHAMPIONS RULE THE DAY!

Leaving the rest biting their taildust, the Swedish culinary national team has emerged winners of the 21st IKA Culinary Olympics with gold medals in all categories! Ecstatic at their second Olympic win in a row, the Swedes, clutching their turquoise and yellow national flag, let out a roar of success that rang out across Hall 1 and exemplified the team spirit that has carried them this far at the world’s biggest culinary competition. A total point score of 442.990 separated them by 7.396 points from the runners-up, Switzerland. Team USA took third place with 428.71 points to much loud whooping and cheering from American supporters in the audience stands.

Category Winners

Bringing the Culinary Olympics to the world, LIVE!

Welcome! For the first time ever, highlights from the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) Culinary Olympics happening in Erfurt, Germany will be transmitted live via the internet, around the world. You can expect interviews with participating teams and individuals from around the world, photographs and video clips of the chefs in action, daily scores and medal tallies to SIRHA exhibition news and words from the official sponsors.


What are the Culinary Olympics?
This event was founded in 1896 by a group of German chefs who envisioned an international cooking event that would cross language barriers and communicate world trends in cuisine. They believed that tourism in their country could be brought to a new level if people became more aware of the quality of cuisine in their homeland. By observing chefs in kitchens where language differences were not a barrier to communication, culinarians could educate themselves on the cooking techniques of other cultures.

This dream became a reality at the turn of the century, in 1900, with four nations competing in a local cooking contest at the Frankfurt fairgrounds, and today the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) approved event is so large it has been dubbed the ‘Culinary Olympics’. The success of this concept has caused a ripple effect throughout the culinary world, encouraging the growth of other international competitions which now take place on every continent and have made significant contributions to the global food industry.

Thousands of chefs train hard each year to test their mettle against their peers at such events, in order to win medals, gain recognition and advance their career, Since its founding the competition had been held continuously in Frankfurt, until 1996 when it was moved to Berlin. In 2000, it moved to Erfurt, Germany, where it will be held again this year.

Visit the official IKA2004 Culinary Olympics website at
www.culinary-olympics.com.

Visit www.vkd.com for more information about the organiser.

Visit www.wacs2000.org for more information about the World Association of Cooks Societies.