Over 1,000 young chefs will be competing for top honours at the Emirates Salon Culinaire Chefs’ competition, taking place at Gulfood 2007 – one of the world’s leading food, drink, foodservice and hospitality equipment exhibition.
The aspiring young culinary professionals will be seeking the coveted Gold, Silver and Bronze awards at the competition, displaying a wide range of skills and techniques for international cooking.
The event, which is seen as a critically-important event within the hospitality industry, is organised by the Emirates Culinary Guild, a member of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) - a 52-nation alliance of chef’s associations worldwide. Gulfood, organised by Dubai World Trade Centre, (DWTC) has been hosting the Salon Culinaire since 1987.
“The 2007 event will be judged by a panel of 16 renowned judges, all of whom are mandated by WACS to judge culinary competitions across the globe. We are proud of the fact that Salon Culinaire is the biggest international culinary competition run by professional chefs for professional chefs,” said Alen Thong, Coordinator, The Emirates Culinary Guild and WACS Assistant Director – Africa & Middle East.
“It also gives us great pleasure to welcome and help the junior members of the industry by giving them the opportunity to take part in the competition. The standard of entries at Salon Culinaire is always high, and the event is a formidable test of a young chef’s personal courage and determination to develop and improve their culinary skills,” he added.
Officials from Dubai World Trade Centre, the organiser of Gulfood, explained that providing the platform and extensive facilities required by Salon Culinaire underlines their strong commitment to the hospitality industry.
“Our intention in hosting Salon Culinaire is to further extend the industry relevance of an event like Gulfood to hospitality professionals, in addition to offering an ideal stage for new young talents to perform in front of a global audience of peers. Trade exhibitions play a key role in helping to support professional development and share skills and knowledge, and Salon Culinaire is an excellent example of such,” said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre.
Salon Culinaire at Gulfood will also present young talents with the opportunity to advance to a global arena. One talented chef will be chosen to represent the UAE at the World Junior Chef Championships. Another more seasoned chef will be selected to represent the UAE at the Global Chef Culinary Challenge, taking place at the WACS 2008 World Congress hosted in Dubai in May 2008.
Key professional competitions for the chefs at Salon Culinaire 2007 will include ‘Individual Ice-Carving’ and a number of ‘Practical Cookery’ events including Emirati Cuisine, Traditional Arabic Mezzeh, and Fish & Seafood. Chefs will also compete in the prestigious ‘Five Plates of Dessert’ and ‘Chocolate Carving Showpiece’ categories.
“We are overwhelmed by the response in 2007 and Salon Culinaire continues to grow in size and stature year on year. The spirit of competition motivates both experienced and junior chefs in their daily working practices, giving them a strong sense of satisfaction gained from striving to be the best at the very highest levels of the challenge,” concluded Thong.
Gulfood 2007 - The 12th Gulf Food, Hotel and Equipment Exhibition and Salon Culinaire, organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 19 – 22 February 2007. The opening hours are 11.00 to 19.00 on 19 – 21 February, and 11.00 to 17.00 on 22 February.
Gulfood is strictly a trade-only event and is open for business and trade visitors only, proof of which must be provided at registration. General public and persons under the age of 21 will not be allowed into the exhibition.
About Gulfood www.gulfood.com
Organised since 1987, Gulfood is the region's largest and most important industry event of the year and a strategic platform for buyers and sellers to conduct direct business face to face. The exhibition is a showcase for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers from around the world, representing all of the key sectors within the food and hospitality trade.
In 2006, Gulfood brought together 2,173* companies from 70 countries and featured 46 national pavilions. The exhibition attracted 32,022* trade visitors from 146 countries including buying delegations not only from the Middle East but as far as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Brunei, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, UK and USA.
*Gulfood 2006 was audited and monitored by KPMG.
About Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) www.dwtc.com
As the organiser of Gulfood 2007, Dubai World Trade Centre offers over 27 years’ experience of delivering world-class events in the Middle East, providing local, regional and international exhibitors with unmatched expertise and in-depth market knowledge. Our team organises 14 of the largest and most successful international and regional shows in Middle East, providing an ideal platform for business development in the region.
Our commitment to ongoing innovation within the exhibition industry has supported the rapid growth and development of a wide range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer shows, and delivered consistent satisfaction to exhibitors and visitors. DWTC works the region’s leading trade bodies and industry associations to ensure that all conferences deliver full value and are built upon the real needs of their specific sector.
