S'pore served with top prize in food Olympics

FROM chicken rice paradise, to land of world-class chefs. Singapore has made its mark in the food world - and that is official.

The Singapore national culinary team out-cooked nine other countries to become Culinary World Masters at the Salon Culinaire Mondial, the food Olympics, on Wednesday.

This competition is held every six years.

The event, which took place in Basel, Switzerland, this year, began last Saturday and ended after five days. It is one of six global competitions accredited by the World Association of Cooks' Societies.

Only 10 of the world's top teams are invited to compete for the Culinary World Masters title.
Singapore's seven-member team comprised award-winning chefs from establishments ranging from Swissotel The Stamford to Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

Singapore beat giants Canada and Switzerland in the overall rankings, also winning a gold medal in the cold food category, which involved creating food displays based on innovative themes, and a silver in the warm food category, where each national team had to create a three-course menu for 110 people.

The win puts Singapore at the forefront of the food industry, said Singapore Chefs Association vice-president Angelo Sanelli.

'Some people just see Singapore as hawker centres and nothing else, but we competed against seasoned champions in Europe and won,' said Mr Sanelli.

'We're setting the trend now,' he added.

The Singapore team will return on Sunday morning at 7am on flight SQ 346, and members of the public are invited to welcome them home.

Hail to the chefs: Mr Edward Voon, The Oriental Singapore; Ms Jasmine Ng, Tourism Academy@Sentosa; Mr Ivan Yeo, Equinox Complex; Ms Nicole Wong, Swissotel The Stamford; Mr Yen Koh, Givaudan; Mr Ron Ng Choon Kiat, Equinox Complex; and Mr Tan Lai Hong, Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

from The Straits Times Interactive
Nov 25, 2005