Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Around 200 chefs from major hotels and restaurants in Jeddah are bringing their sharpest knives, coolest nerves and hottest techniques to Jeddah Center for Forums and Events as they compete to be named "Jeddah's Best Chef" during the four-day “Open Cooking Championship & Art De Table” competition which is part of the 19th Food, Hotel, and Hospitality exhibition that kicked off here Sunday.



Jointly organized by Nestle, Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle and World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) and Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions, the four- day event has remained a big draw among the show visitors.



Speaking about this competition, Thomas Gugler, Director F&B /Executive Master Chef and head of the Judging Committee said “It is a cooking competition where chefs show their ability and skills in terms of doing a job which is done on a daily basis. We want to see these aspired chefs what they can do in different categories.”



The number of contestants has increased in both live cooking and showpiece categories this time and also the number of Saudi competitors has also marked a significant increase, according to Gugler.



He stated that the main aim of this competition is to find very young talented chefs to build up their talents for the future and off course to upgrade the hospitality industry here in Saudi Arabia.



“ It is a must to improve the hospitality industry here because we can see so many tourists and Haj and Umrah visitors who expect excellent service, quality of food and proper set up,” he said.



Gugler from Germany who has been working in the Kingdom for 13 years with the Royal family and Saudi Airlines noted that tourism and hospitality industry are growing but quality is not going as far as it should be.



He added “ Everyone in the industry really must support young chefs because their future depends on support and cooperation.”



In addition to the competitive sessions, each evening also includes themed cooking demonstrations that make this a unique gastronomic experience for visitors.



Since the opening of the exhibition and the related competitions on Sunday, the chefs have been prepping, carving, chopping and challenging themselves, doing their best to ensure they walk away with top honors, medals and prizes.



“Food and the art of cooking is such an important part of Saudi Arabian culture and with this competition open to all food lovers, we are bound to see an assortment of culinary creations and recipes,” says Gugler.



Live cooking competitions also include the use of meat by the chefs and in cooking Asian, Indian, Arabic and pasta varieties. The Art de Table competition involves designing a table setting to accommodate the needs of competition rules and standards. “ Besides, there is a creative barista, mocktail, live sandwich, hors’ d Oeuvre and mezzah competitions,” said Gugler.



Speaking about young Saudi chefs, Gugler said that they are very determined and enthusiastic chefs but with the right training they could be much better.  "We really noticed that many young female and male Saudis are joining the industry to become chefs which is a very important move unlike 10 years ago when this job was unacceptable by Saudis but nowadays with the implementation of Saudization we see more young Saudis are very interested to become chefs,” he said.



The “open cooking championship & art de table” competition has attracted so much interest that the contest is quickly oversubscribed with chefs eager to display their culinary skills for this coveted award whilst achieving press and public exposure for their hotel or restaurant.