The world’s largest single entry chef competition, the 22nd Emirates International Salon Culinaire, will debut next week from March 4-6 at Expo Centre Sharjah.
Executive chairman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Marwan Al Sarkal, will inaugurate the event on March 4.
With less than six months to stage ExpoCulinaire, the Emirates Culinary Guild teamed up with organiser Purple Kitchen Events and Expo Centre Sharjah to ensure that the most established chef competition in the Middle East would continue to run in Q1 of 2019. The Salon used to be held as the main feature of Gulfood in Dubai and was a firm base for chefs to be part of the mega food event which took place last week. It will now sit within a dedicated platform for foodservice professionals and will finally bring back food, equipment and services under one roof – something the industry has been missing for several years.
“We planned for ExpoCulinaire to be three days but we have had to extend it by an additional day (not open for visitors) in order to accommodate the massive demand from competitors,” said Uwe Micheel, president of Emirates Culinary Guild, assistant vice president of Worldchefs and director of Kitchens at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek. “Next year, we will ensure our judges are in place even earlier to be sure we continue to grow the Salon Culinaire,” said Micheel.
The 22nd Emirates International Salon Culinaire is an annual event endorsed by Worldchefs and has strong support from various sponsors including Nestle and IFFCO for the 29 different classes which are judged and awarded according to the global standards of experienced master chefs. Competitors are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze accreditation after detailed judging and feedback.
At ExpoCulinaire, 2,000 chefs will not be the only new profile in Sharjah - education and training will form another pillar. Four Education Partners (Chef International Centre, Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, International Centre for Culinary Arts and Richmonte Masterbaker) have committed to a full three day, free-of-charge programme, totalling 27 sessions for students and aspiring hospitality managers in a mock kitchen and classroom set up. Joining them in the exhibition will be at least four other top educators and between them, courses ranging from one-day skills workshops to multiyear Bachelor and Masters degrees can be explored or signed up for.
Sharjah-based IFFCO has chosen ExpoCulinaire to launch its latest product geared towards the foodservice market. “The strategy of using our specialised platform to reach catering professionals and buyers will grow year on year. If you want to meet the chef, pastry chef, baker and cook communities plus their senior management, ExpoCulinaire is a must,” commented Joanne Cook, CEO of Purple Kitchen Events.
“Focusing on culinary art, competitions, skills, learning, training, products and equipment driven by the inspirational passion and creativity of chefs is certain to have a positive impact on the tourism industry. The tourism sector is crucial to Sharjah and to the UAE as a whole, we must continue to lead and to capture the imagination of the hospitality industry,” added Cook.
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