South Korea Takes Top Honours at MLA Blackbox Global Finals

South Korea, fresh from its win to host the WACS Congress 2012, has gained yet another accolade here in Dubai. On 14 May, after a grueling day of competition cooking, the North Asian country came up as the winner out of 19 international teams competing in the bi-annual MLA Blackbox Global Finals. Team South Korea, representing the Grand InterContinental Hotel Seoul, won its chance to represent its country by winning the country heats. The three person team was headed by team manager Chef Bok Jong Dae, in-charge of the hotel’s buffet restaurant. His three team members were chefs Kim YooShik and Lim HoTeak, both 3rd cooks in Grand InterContinental Seoul’s flagship restaurant 34, and patissier Choi JinBok. South Korea also received the awards for Best Soup course, a creamy mushroom veloute, and for Best Main Course.

Overall, Asian countries took home most of the awards. Singapore received the award for Best Appetiser, for its Quattro of Norwegian seafood, and Indonesia won the Best Dessert category. This global finals of the MLA Blackbox is the culmination of two years of worldwide competitions stretching from the United States to Mauritius, and from South Africa to China. The MLA Blackbox, which first started in Bali in 1996 is a WACS endorsed competition and has certainly grown from strength to strength in its 12 years of operations.

Team Iceland Wins WACS Presidium Bid

After four years of leadership under President Ferdinand Metz, the World Association Of Chefs Societies (WACS) has a new presidium under Iceland’s Gissur Gudmundsson.

A vote was held at the opening of the business day today, Wednesday May 14, at the 34th WACS Congress in Dubai. This is the first time in 20 years that a vote has been held for an incoming presidium. Gissur Gudmundsson’s new presidium also includes running mates Hilmar B. Jonsson (candidate for Vice President), who has been a previous President of the Icelandic Chefs Association and a certified masterchef since 1969; and Helgi Einarsson (candidate for Secretary General) who is general manager of a leading food export company and was an active member of the Icelandic Chefs Association from 2004 to 2007.

At a presentation held on Monday morning, Gudmundsson revealed he had sold his restaurant in Iceland last year to dedicate himself and his time to the running of WACS. Also promised, is a permanent WACS Office in Paris, fully funded for four years by the Icelandic government. At his acceptance speech, Gudmundsson reiterated his campaign message that his team will be ‘rethinking tradition’ and emphasized, “We will work for everyone of you.”

Continental Director for Asia, John Slone, was the other candidate for president and will keep his current post.