WAC S
The organization has an eight-member board and 50 chefs serving as
The Bill Gallagher Junior Chefs Forum was another notable
volunteers in different committees. Worldchefs magazine, the official
learning experience for the young chefs. The Forum was such
publication of WACS, is in its 6th edition and gets more than 240,000
a success, packed with interesting topics and trips that many
downloads per edition. By the end of this year, the WACS will launch
senior chefs started to feel they were missing out on some
a new website. Three new member countries were welcomed into
excellent Korean cultural food tours. Over 200 participating
the world organization: the Maldives, Columbia and Taiwan. WACS
junior delegates enjoyed gastronomic tours to the agricultural
education recognition program for culinary schools is a great success
markets and a Kimchi factory, among other outings. Junior chefs
and is already used by many schools and culinary institutes. Later this
also made an afternoon presentation and a culinary show for
year, the education committee will launch its worldwide individual
the senior chefs at the congress, which gave them hands-on
chef’s certification program to give chefs across the globe access to
experience in public speaking and how to make a presentation.
certify themselves as professional cook or chef. Another highlight and an unprecedented event at the WACS Congress was the Keynote Presentation of our very own Egyptian celebrity chef, Chef Osama El Sayed. His presentation “Ramadan Banquets & Traditions”, not only showed the typical foods served in Ramadan, but also explained a lot about the general traditions around the Muslim holy month. He described the mental power
“2111 chefs were counted to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
you get from fasting, which helps you become aware that, yes, you
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can survive and function without starting off you day with coffee
A presentation by Chris Sandford, founder of the Ireland Culinary
and food! He explained how fasting, a tradition which exists in many
Ability Awards, showed the congress delegates some images of this
cultures around the world, has been shown to give you strength to
special competition for chefs with disabilities. Since its kick off in
overcome or fight possible infections, weaknesses or addictions.
2005, the competition is gaining in popularity each year. The chefs are
After his cooking demo, he laid out a whole table with food for
judged in accordance with the same standards as any other WACS-
the congress delegates to taste. Delegates also got a copy of Chef
endorsed competition. The impressive and emotionally touching
Osama’s book Arabian Sweets, generously donated by Chef Osama
images of the competition inspired many other chefs associations to
and the Emirates Culinary Guild.
consider staging such an event in their own countries.
C H E F ' S C O R N E R
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QUARTER 2012