2010 Wessex Salon Culinaire set to stage WorldSkills UK hospitality competitions
The quest to find the UK’s best chefs is underway with entries now open for the 2010 Wessex Salon Culinaire. Ambitious chefs and restaurant service professionals in employment, training or education have until 9 March 2010 to enter online at www.hotel–expo.co.uk/wsc if they wish to take part.
The Wessex Salon Culinaire will be staged at the Hotel and Catering Show in Bournemouth on 16 and 17 March 2010 and for the first time in the competitions six year history it will include the WorldSkills UK Cooking, Confectioner/Pastry Chef and Restaurant Services competitions.
Those wishing to enter the WorldSkills UK Cooking, Confectioner/Pastry Chef and Restaurant Services competitions will be required to compete in three out of five classes in the relevant disciplines. Winners from these three prestigious competitions may be selected to represent the UK at the 2011 WorldSkills Competition, the largest skills event in the world, which will be held in London.
Parisa Shirazi, Deputy Director of Skills Competitions, says: “UK Skills are delighted to be working with Wessex Salon Culinaire to deliver the WorldSkills UK Hospitality competitions. UK Skills has joined forces with the Salon Culinaire to engage with the wide audiences that Wessex Salon Culinaire attracts across further education and industry.”
The 2010 Wessex Salon Culinaire, in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs and WorldSkills UK and sponsored by Nestle Professional CHEF and Coastline Produce, will include a variety of hot and cold live competition classes and are designed to attract newcomers, 23 years and under, as well as veteran chefs. Other top competitions taking place will be the Nestlé Professional’s® CHEF® at Salon, the Caterer, Licensee and Hotelier Student Chef of the Year and the Chefs Forum sponsored by Coastline and Bournemouth and Poole College.
Over the years, the Wessex Salon Culinaire has provided a platform for new chefs to showcase their talents and well-known past competitors include the current KNORR National Chef of the Year, Simon Hulstone. Simon is now chef/patron of the Michelin-starred Elephant in Torquay and isset to represent the UK at the 50th International Escoffier Challenge next year. As a past Wessex Salon Culinaire competitor, Simon now encourages his own team of young chefs to enter in order to be recognised on a wider scale and highlight the excellent work that they are doing.
He says: “As a seasoned competitor and employer of young chefs, the Wessex Salon Culinaire is ideal for my team to become acquainted with competition experience. The classes represent skills and classical knowledge and also hand a real test to anyone - from Michelin-standard to first year student. The Wessex Salon Culinaire is a great Salon to break into the competition scene.”
Another past competitor endorsing competitions is Joe Li, commis chefat The Sandbanks Hotel. Joe took part in the Nestlé Professional’s® CHEF® at Salon in 2009 and became a first time gold medal winner. He says: “Winning CHEF®at Salon at the 2009 Hotel and Catering Show has been one of the defining moments of my career so far.” He believes that competitions are a great way of nurturing young talent and encouraging them to engage with what is happening in the industry. Competitors also get the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity on a visible platform watched by industry leaders. “Competing under the critical eyes of the judges also provides a taster of the intense pressure chefs are under in industry,” he adds.
Renowned as the essential showcase for the industry, the Hotel and Catering Show takes place at the Bournemouth International Centre and will feature the latest industry products, services, food and drink, as well as provide delicious tasting opportunities and live demonstrations. The two-day Show, organised by the CEM Group, is the south coast’s largest hospitality event and has become the fundamental showcase for the industry.
For further details about the Show, please visit www.hotel-expo.co.uk or call 01425 485040. For details on the Wessex Salon Culinaire, please contact Deborah Jones on 01425 485048 or book online www.hotel-expo.co.uk/wsc.
Press enquiries to:
Carol Middleton or Nicole Fenner
Liz Lean PR Ltd
Tel: 01202 701828
Fax: 01202 708101
E-mail: carol@lizleanpr.co.uk or nicole@lizleanpr.co.uk