News From Egypt

Gold Glitters for Chefs at HACE´14

Chefs are back on the competition stage, as the Egyptian Chefs Association concluded a successful round of Live Cooking Competitions and Salon Culinaire at the 33rd HACE´14 Hotel Supplies´ Exhibition this February.



The HACE´14 exhibition, organized by the Egyptian Group for Marketing, was officially opened on the 4th of February by H.E. Hisham Zaazou, Egypt´s Minister of Tourism, who made the effort of personally visiting all the booths and expressed his appreciation for everyone´s participation. The Egyptian Group for Marketing kindly hosted the Egyptian Chefs Association´s live cooking competitions and the renowned culinary art show, the National Salon Culinaire´14. Throughout the four days of the trade show, celebrities glittered at the ECA booth, with Chef Gissur Gudmundsson, President of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) and Egyptian TV Show Chef Osama El Sayed and Chef Tarek Ibrahim taking the center point of attention.

Spirits were high as Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were bestowed by the discerning international jury panel, who expressed their admiration at the skill level that the chefs have reached. For their part, the chefs were happy that the distinguished judges made the trip to Egypt, flying in from all over the world, including South Africa, Iceland, China, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in a great show of support for their colleagues in Egypt.



With a total of over 200 participating chefs, the expert judging panel awarded 9 Gold, 9 Silver and 21 Bronze medals at the National Salon Culinaire´14, and a total of 1 Gold, 12 Silver and 26 Bronze medals at the ECA Live Cooking Competitions. In addition there were 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals awarded in the ECA Culinary Trophy´14 Team competition. The ECA Culinary Trophy´14 was awarded to the Black Stars team, followed closely by InterContinental Hotels Group Citystars Complex in second place, with only three points´ difference. Semiramis InterContinental came in third at this prestigious culinary challenge. Through the kind donation of many loyal ECA sponsors, the Association was able to distribute a total of 50,000 LE in cash prizes among the winners of the 11 live cooking competitions.

Highlights of this year´s competition program included the many new participants in the Junior Chef of the Year and the Female Chef of the Year competitions, reflecting the trend in the industry which sees more and more juniors, as well as females, joining the kitchen workforce. Another highlight was the Culinary Training Centers Egypt (CTCE) Student Competition, in which students in teams had to prepare foods typical of the Mediterranean Diet and answer several questions in the culinary quiz to test their culinary knowledge in addition to their skills in cooking.

The Egyptian Chefs Association wishes to congratulate all HACE´14 winners and to express its sincere thanks to the Egyptian Group for Marketing for hosting all the ECA competitions. We also wish to thank our loyal sponsors and all who contributed to this year´s successful event for their generous support and a BIG thank you to the judges for joining us in Egypt.

Let us keep up the team spirit, together we can accomplish anything we set our minds to!

Live Cooking Competitions

Winners List
Photo Gallery
 

National Salon Culinaire´14

Winners List
Photo Gallery 

Egyptian National Salon Culinaire - Young Chefs come to compete in larger numbers than ever before

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Kitchen Competition

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From young culinary students to seasoned veterans of Egypt’s ritziest hotels, some 200 chefs competed in this year’s four-day live cooking competitions, part of the National Salon Culinaire hosted by the Egyptian Chefs Association

By Dominika Maslikowski

Wearing a black hijab under a towering white chef’s hat, Eman Mohamed, Chef de Partie at JW Marriott Hotel Mirage City, smashed a clove of fragrant garlic with the back of her knife as crowds reached over the plastic barrier surrounding the four-person kitchen to snap photos with their mobiles. Mohamed kept a serene smile as the tall Markus Iten, Egyptian Chefs Association (ECA) president, watched on and crowds chanted for their favorites from the bleachers. Competing in the Female Chef of the Year live competition on February 5, Mohamed topped off her dish of meat with cilantro, mint and hair-thin slices of red bell pepper. She ended the competition in second place, behind Marigo Maged Gharbawy, a 22 year-old student at the Culinary Training Centers Egypt.

“It was my first competition,” says Gharbawy, who won a gold medal and a LE 1,500 prize after impressing the judges with her innovative starter of kadayif and halloumi cheese. She thinks it is possible to beat out more experienced chefs if you are passionate and believed in yourself. “With the support of my loved ones and encouragement, I did not give up. I learned when you’re determined, don’t give up on yourself. When the clock starts counting down, you have to be on fire and when something goes wrong then take a minute and consider what you need to do.”

The 12 women vying for the Female Chef of the Year title all had one hour to prepare a starter and main course using only local Egyptian products. An eight-member jury composed of celebrity chefs and industry veterans then judged each entry for presentation, cooking skills, hygiene and taste. For many of the younger competitors, it was not only a chance to prove themselves as females in a male-dominated field but also to get feedback from some of the world’s top chefs.

The 10 timed live-cooking contests ranged from the US Beef Dish Competition to the El Nur Vegetarian Dish Competition and crowd favorites such the Watania Mystery Basket Competition, where chefs prepared a starter and main course live within an hour by using all the ingredients provided in a mystery basket.

Alongside the live-cooking events were the National Salon Culinaire competitions, where professional Egyptian chefs brought in dishes already prepared to be judged for aspects such as composition and innovation. The 13 categories in those competitions included a three-layer wedding cake, tapas/canapes and vegetarian platter.

Judges scored each dish out of 100 points, with medals awarded for top marks. Nine gold medals were awarded in the National Salon Culinaire, while three golds were awarded during the live-cooking competitions.

For Ahmed Adel Hussein, a 30-year old student at the Culinary Training Centers Egypt, the Student Competition on February 6 was a chance to prove himself in front of a large audience. When asked what inspired his love of cooking, Hussein answered that he’d grown up watching celebrity Chef Osama’s TV shows and always followed his programs. Chef Osama, who was on the jury and standing nearby, laughed and smiled at the student with pride.

The National Salon Culinaire took place at the HACE hotel supplies exhibition that ran February 4-10 at the Cairo International Convention Centre. For the ECA, these competitions are meant to raise the prestige of the chef profession and to improve standards at Egyptian restaurants and hotels — something that officials believe can give the tourism industry a much-needed boost.

“First you have to make them proud of their profession, and when they get proud they’re more eager to learn, improve and get better and better,” says Mirjam van Ijssel, ECA’S executive director. “Food is always important, no matter if you’re staying in a one-, two- or five-star hotel. And if you’re staying at a hotel, food becomes a part of the entertainment for the day. The competitions are really a learning experience. We spend a lot of time giving feedback and we want them to improve. They learn by sharing experiences and by watching each other cook, and they learn very well how to organize themselves.”

Timing and organization, van Ijssel says, remain the biggest challenges facing most competitors. Many chefs lunge straight for the meat in a competition because they think it’s the most crucial element, she says, but it takes real skill to synchronize all the dishes so everything is hot when served.

And while Egypt may not have world-famous restaurants like Dubai or Europe, many of the jury believe it has potential, raw talent and enthusiasm.
“The restaurants we’ve been to in Cairo are quite good, but you need more education and more opportunities for people,” said jury member and World Association of Chefs Societies President Gissur Gudmundsson. “I was impressed by the standard of the plates, and they’re on the same level you’d see in any competition in Central Europe. They have all the opportunity to compete at an international standard, so that’s what impressed me. You only need one or two to come home with a gold metal, and that will motivate more young people to go into it.”

WorldChefs President - YoungChefs called to Norway

Young Chef Ambassador from Russia - Ravil Tazutdinov

WorldChefs YoungChefs are very pleased to announce the appointment to our team of Ravil Tazutdinov, from Russian and the President of the Young chefs Club of Russia. We thank President Belayev for his support to this young chef and for guiding him and the Young chefs of Russia.

Ravil has been instrumental in driving the young chef movement forward in conjunction with the senior Russian Association. Attached is a brief about Ravil

Ravil Tazutdinov, born on the 27th October 1992 in Moscow, Russia began his culinary carrier at the age of 16 as a student of the "Tsaritsino" College in Moscow.

During his 3 years of education at the college and for the following 5 years he was working at 2 biggest hotels in Moscow: Marriott Grand Hotel and Intercontinental Moscow Tverskaya

He also participated in International Internships organized by hotels in Italy and Greece.

He took part in many Russian competitions like the Kremlin Cup, Moscow Junior Chef Challenge, etc.

As a member of the Russian Culinary Association he assisted in many Food Shows, as well as Master Classes, with famous Russian and International Chefs, such as Thomas A. Gugler, Domenico Maggie and Oleg Chesnokov, executive chef at the hotel "intercontinental Moscow Tverskaya, executive chef at the restaurant "Berlin Moscow", etc.

In 2012 Ravil Tatzudinov was nominated the Manager of special events for the Russian Culinary Association, and one year later, the President of the Young Chefs Club Russia.

BGYCF 2012: Funny Faces

Great introduction of all the Young Chefs who came & supported BGYCF 2012 at Daejeon...

There are some of us who may not be as young, but are young-at-heart. LoL

Thanks Felix for putting this together! :)

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BGYCF Finale - Cook Off at Daejeon 2012

The BGYCF 2012 came to a close with a Cook-Off Finale, but the bonds and the friendships these Young Chefs shared will continue throughout their culinary journey... 

Will you be joining us for this amazing opportunity? We will like to hear from you!  :)

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