Emirates Salon Culinaire 2013

The Judges and Competitors are gathering once more for the Emirates Salon Culinaire, in the city of gold - Dubai.

This is the beginning of the competition year and it promises to be a huge and exciting year. 

With daily reports you can keep up-to-date with all action and great photos during the culinary salon right here.

Links to the pictures taken at the Emirates Salon Culinaire 2013:

25 February 2013

26 February 2013

27 February 2013

28 February 2013

News from Singapore Team at Coupe de Monde de la Patisserie- World Pastry cup 2013

Dear Pastry Chefs, Chefs, Friends and Colleagues

On behalf of Singapore Pastry Alliance, I am very pleased to share with you that for the recent Coupe de Monde de la Patisserie- World Pastry cup 2013 , The world's most prestigious pastry-making competition! The benchmark event for an entire profession

A two-year selection process covering 5 continents, 50 national selections, 22 participating countries that will be competing in Lyon at the final to be held at Sirha, 27th and 28th January 2013. 22 teams including a pastry-maker, a chocolatier and an ice cream maker, 10 hours of competing in front of the public.

Singapore Pastry Team was awarded Top 6 ranking in the overall among the 22 countries from the world.  (Champion France, 2^nd Japan, 3^rd Italy)

The Singapore Team was made up of :

Team Manager, Yong Ming Choong - Equinox Pastry Chef, Swissotel The Stamford & Fairmont Singapore

Team Captain ,Chong Chi Hiung Alex – Junior Pastry Chef, Swissotel The Stamford Singapore
Team member ,Lau Tse Kwang Jaycent –Junior Sous Chef, Guy Savoy at Marina Say Sands
Team member ,Lim Chang Chek – Junior Spous Chef, Mandarin Oriental Singapore

Team member, Chew Teck Heng, Richard- Chef de partie,Mandarin Oriental Singapore

Team Advisor, Pang Kok Keong- Executive Pastry Chef, Sugar Daddy Group Pte Ltd  

Team Promotion manager, Ingrid Lim- Sugar Daddy Group Pte Ltd  

The team showed tremendous commitment and dedication to come in 6th placing out of 22 teams. The overall standard and work done was remarkable. My heartiest congratulation to the team for all the hard work and commitment towards culinary excellence! 

Once again, a big thank you to all the hotel management, Chefs , Pastry Chefs and suppliers who have supported us generously in these  pastry competitions  over the past many years.  Without your support, our achievements no matter big or small would not have been possible.

Attached are some of the artist work from the team for your perusal.

Thank you

Warmest regards

Kenny Kong

President, Singapore Pastry Alliance

Member of Singapore Chefs’ Association 

Congratulations on the new committee of Penang Junior Chefs Club

Congratulations on the new committee of Penang Junior Chefs Club

Calling all international Junior Chefs

Dear Junior Chefs,

Greetings from Jakarta !

On behalf of our Association of Culinary Professional Indonesia (ACP), we would like to invite you to participate at for our 9^th Salon Culinaire at Food Hotel Indonesia from 10- 13 April 2013 at JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta.

Click on the link below for the Rules...

http://goo.gl/2pveK

 

Thank you and looking forward to welcoming you to Indonesia

  

With culinary regards,

Vindex V. Tengker

President of ACP

Association of Culinary Professionals Jakarta.

And Committee of Salon Culinaire 2011

Andy Cuthbert on Gulf Gourmet Jan 2013

Our WYCDT Chairman, Chef Andy Cuthbert was recently spotlighted and given the title of The Godfather.  :) 

Read Chef Andy Cuthbert's incredible journey, how he started as a young chef to the successful and well-respected figure he is today.

Click HERE to download the Gulf Gourmet magazine (Jan 2013)

6 Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

Big Boss Boo-Boos: 6 Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

By Lindsay Olson

If you've recently been promoted, congratulations. It's an honor to receive a promotion that puts you in a leadership role. But be wary: You carry a great deal of responsibility that can easily be taken away should you not live up to expectations. Not to set off alarm bells, but of people who have been promoted, a full 40 percent of them will fail within their first 18 months on the job. Most of the failure stems from a few key leadership mistakes that The Forum Corp.'s President and CEO Andrew Graham outlines:

1. Alienating your team. Graham says that you likely got your promotion by standing out from others, but now that role has changed. Rather than focusing on continuing to shine alone, you need to help your subordinates stand out. "If your subordinates or peers perceive that you care more about your interests than theirs, you will lose them. And once you lose them, you will lose, period," he says.

2. Keeping the same mindset. You got where you are by being really good at a few key skills for the job. You can just about toss those out of the window if you want to be a good leader, because, as Graham says, your focus should now be on "high-value activities that deliver business results through the team." It's all too common for new managers to make the mistake of focusing on low-value activities (think: TPS reports) that don't benefit the team and that are others' responsibilities.

3. Not asking for help. You're the leader now. That means you're expected to know everything ... doesn't it? Not at all. Rather than being overconfident you can handle a situation you've never encountered before, the smart thing is to ask for input from others. "Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it's the contrary," stresses Graham. Understand that your team will respect you for saying you don't know the answer to a question, but that you will make it a priority to find it.

4. Making all the decisions alone. Leaders should lead, not dictate. But many feel like the key to leading is taking on all the decisions on their own. Rather than being seen as a fine leader, you will be resented for leaving your employees out in the cold on a decision they felt entitled to weigh in on. Instead, involve other team members in your decision-making process so that you build a sense of community and democracy, not a dictatorship.

5. Ignoring transitions. You being promoted to manager or leader isn't the only transition you need to deal with. While you're settling into that corner office, your new team is adjusting to having a new person at the helm, and all the personal interplay that brings among co-workers. Not spending enough time making that transition smoother can set the course for how your team operates, and it might make things more difficult down the road.

6. Leaning too hard on book smarts. So you went to an Ivy League school. So what? All the fine education in the world can't prepare you for cultivating your people-leadership skills, which account for 85 percent of a leader's success, according to Graham. You can apply what you've learned in books, but the best leaders help their staff learn to solve problems themselves, and teaching that can't be learned anywhere but on the job.

The first few months of taking on a leadership role are the most precarious. Begin to think like a leader and focus your actions around what is best for the team. Ask for feedback from your staff and your own boss so that you can quickly correct anything that could stand to be improved.

Lindsay Olson is a founding partner and public relations recruiter with Paradigm Staffing and Hoojobs.com, a niche job board for public relations, communications, and social media jobs. She blogs at LindsayOlson.com, where she discusses recruiting and job search issues.

Source: US News