Organisers gear up for 12th edition of Hotel Asia Exhibition & International Culinary Challenge

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The 12^th edition of the annual Hotel Asia Exhibition and International Culinary Challenge will be held from 5 to 7 September.

This year’s event is once again supported by the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives along with the Sri Lanka – Maldives Bilateral Business Council and the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka.

This year, the expo will include pavilions from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Dubai and Singapore.

The Hotel Asia International Culinary Challenge, the region’s premier culinary competition, will begin a day before the exhibition and continue for four days.

More than 450 Chefs from 60 resorts are expected to participate this year.

The competition will be judged by a star-studded panel of international judges such as Alan Palmer, along with distinguished members of the culinary industry.

The judging categories for the culinary competition include classics such as Pastas, Hot Cooking – Meat, Poultry and Seafood and Iced Mocktails.

This year’s Culinary Challenge will feature two new categories; Honeymoon Cakes and a Tea Challenge.

Organised in association with Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) and Singapore’s luxury tea brand, TWG Tea, participants of the Tea challenge will be asked to prepare a tea-infused mocktail.

According to the organisers, the Tea challenge will provide an opportunity for chefs to show off their creativity and learn more about infusing tea into food and beverages.

Rith Aum-stievenard, the Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of TWG Tea will be one of the judges of the Challenge. He is a renowned tea connoisseur and gourmet food and beverage specialist.

The winner of the Tea Challenge will receive return air tickets to Singapore and a 3-day training at TWG Tea institute.

The institute also conducts annual training for resort staff upon request.

The winners of the International Culinary Challenge will be awarded trophies and medals as well as special prices, such as fully hosted trips to take part in Gulf Food and FHA in Dubai and Singapore respectively. Over 15 return airline tickets are on offer to the winners.

As with previous years, Hotel Asia and the exhibition sponsor BBM are organising a series of culinary masterclasses leading up to the competition.

The first masterclass was held in March by renowned Norwegian chef and winner of the Bocuse d’Or 2009 competition, Geir Skeie, along with veteran Swiss chef and Project Director of the Culinary Challenge, Alan Palmer, and President of Bocuse d’Or – Sri Lanka, Rohan Fernandopulle.

According to Alan Palmer, hosting these special classes is necessary. He also expressed his desire to conduct regular cooking classes for chefs in the Maldives to share cooking techniques and useful information.

The second masterclass, to be held on 1 September, will feature Swedish chef and professor of gastronomy, Gert Klötzke.

The Masterclass, titled ‘How to prepare for culinary competitions,’ will offer participants an insight into what the panel of judges will be looking for during the competition.

Aside from Klötzke, Master Chef Tarek Ibrahim and Jodi-Ann Pearton will also share their knowledge and experience and help prepare and train the chefs competing in the challenge.

The Hotel Asia Exhibition & International Culinary Challenge is organised by the Maldives Exhibition and Conference Services (MECS) together with the event’s long-standing partner and main sponsor Bestbuy Maldives Pvt Ltd (BBM).

Since its inception, BBM has been the sole sponsor of the Hotel Asia International Culinary Challenge. In 2014, the company became the main sponsor of the Hotel Asia exhibition.

As well as hosting culinary masterclasses with Michelin-starred chefs, BBM also conducts culinary seminars such as its Molecular Gastronomy Seminar in 2014.

“As the leading food service company in the Maldives, at BBM we believe in infusing knowledge to the hospitality industry, especially the F&B sector,” said Mohamed Mazloom, CEO of BBM.

“Therefore, we explore opportunities to conduct training programmes on diverse sectors in F&B in the Maldives or host chefs to travel abroad for training. These programmes will help the industry to be in line with the best in the world.”

Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) is a leading provider of resort supply solutions, specialising in importing the highest quality food and beverage products. The company supplies to all the resorts in the country as well as a selection of liveaboards.

BBM is the authorised distributor of many global brands, known worldwide for their exceptional quality. The company aims to provide the hospitality professionals with the best of the best. Products from companies such as Unilever Food Solutions and Vismark are distributed by BBM, along with Ireks, Ravifruit, Lamb Weston,TWG and RedMan to name a few.

With the introduction of new products to the market, the company organises workshops and seminars to teach chefs about what the products can offer, often by bringing international chefs to share their expertise.

Once a year, BBM also handpicks a selection of chefs from the Maldivian hospitality sector and sends them abroad to widen their culinary knowledge, sponsoring the entire trip. In the past, BBM has sent Maldivian chefs to Germany, as well as Malaysia.

BBM’s innovative supply network, alongside its commitment to investing in the future of the hospitality industry, has earned the company a reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking supply firms in the country.

Visit www.bb-mld.com for more information.

Recognised as an International Standard exhibition, the annual Hotel Asia Exhibition is considered the purchasing forum for resorts and hotels.

According to the organisers, the exhibition is an invaluable opportunity for resort businesses to discover new technology, products and services under one roof.

The event will take place at Dharubaaruge’ convention centre in Male’.

For more information, visit www.hotelasia-maldives.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]