September 2013

Dear Members, Friends and Colleagues,

 

Time flies and we are already nearing the end of summer and the beginning of fall.  At the time of this writing, the temperatures are soaring to 35° Celsius – a great time to be a chef working in the kitchen!

            Following is a brief recap of all the 2013 activities we’ve organized or been involved in so far:

  • Fu Hong Society held its 9th “Best Buddies Hong Kong” Electric Cooking Competition on 16 and 17 March.  100 teams participated comprising a total of over 300 contestants with or without disabilities. They came from different secondary schools, universities, special schools, etc. as well as the “Best Buddies” from the Fu Hong Society. 

            The Final contest and the Award ceremony were held at Citywalk 2 on 21 April. We were grateful to have the President of the Legislative Council, the Hon Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, and 8 Legislative Council members as well as representatives from the Social Welfare Department, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and CLP Power attend the ceremony.  Ten of them participated in the “Star Cooking Performance” and made delicious dishes with the “Best Buddies”.  Mr. Chow Chung and Billy Yeung, HKCA       Committee member, served as judges (see story in Aug/Sep edition of this newsletter).

 

  • We had a fantastic turnout for the visit to CLP and a fish farm on 31 July in Yuen Long (see story inside this issue).  Unfortunately, we had a full house and had to turn some members away.  We shall do this trip gain in fall.  I’d like to thank Aquaculture Technologies Asia Ltd. for inviting us to such a great place and for being such a good host!
  • Once again, we helped the HKYCC organize the Norwegian Seafood Young Chef Challenge 2013 held 28 August at the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (HITDC) in Pokfulam.  Amateur professionals and students under the age of 25 participated.  We had a huge turnout and the standards were very high with many great dishes prepared. The winner will visit Stavanger, Norway to attend the WACS Congress in July 2014.

 

  • In late May, the HKCA was invited to participate in the Pattaya City Culinary Cup 2013.  Many countries participated in this challenge among them strong opponents like Australia, the Czech Republic and Singapore. Finally, congratulations to the Hong Kong National Team for winning the Grand Champion Award and for brining back the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Trophy.  You guys made me proud and a great honor for Hong Kong! (See story inside)

 

  • The beginning of August brought us the annual Trade Test in Western Cuisine at HITDC, which lasted two weeks.  The chefs were under the scrutiny of a team of invigilators from Hong Kong and Germany.  At the end, we added 1 Certified Master Chef, 14 Trainer chefs and 38 Certified Cooks to the growing list of professional chefs.

                 

This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to our local chefs for it gives them the opportunity of a lifetime to study the same curriculum as their counterparts in Europe.

            Congratulations to all who have made it and the rest, please try again and learn from the past. Don’t give up! This is the only road to success. 

  • Finally, please join us for the International Chefs Day on 14 October at Disneyland.