Hospitality by Dubai World Trade Centre scooped one of its largest medal hauls to date at the Salon Culinaire with 47 medals across 67 categories.
A core team of 52 chefs from Dubai World Trade Centre’s Hospitality team took part in the five day competition at Gulfood event, taking home seven gold medals, 14 silver, 26 bronze and 19 merit awards.
Leading the team was 38-year-old chef de cuisine Shyju Varghese, who took gold in both the ‘5 Course Plated Gourmet Menu’ and ‘Tapas, Finger Food and Canapé’ categories, bringing his overall tally to 11 gold meals and 21 medals in total over the last nine years.
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“It is such a great feeling being able to add to my total. We have such a rich and dynamic training scheme working within Dubai World Trade Centre, which really pushes our skills in many different directions.
"Being able to harness that and then direct what we learn every day on the job into this high pressure event, helps give us an advantage.
"For me, focusing on the simplicity of food is at the heart of what we do, plus it is backed up with a lot of dedication and commitment. Practice makes a chef perfect. And a lot of sleepless nights,” said Varghese.
His other gold medal winning colleagues included: Mario Fernandes in the 5 Course Plated Gourmet Menu; Kamal Patabedige in Fish & Seafood Practical Cooking; Thusitha Priyantha in the Four Plates of Dessert category; and Jayson Cueto and Leonardo Sasa in the Team Ice Carving event.
Dubai World Trade Centre director of kitchens Harald Oberender said: “Coming back with so many medals is really a testament to how hard the team works, and the dedication they put into both their day jobs and this event."
He added: "During Gulfood week, it is probably our busiest time as the entire venue is stretched to capacity, so to see how the xhefs balance work and Salon Culinaire is really encouraging.
“What is even more important is how the event is focusing on developing the next generation of young chefs. These are the future of our industry and to see how well they do against the best in the world is a tribute to how Dubai’s culinary credentials have grown in stature of the years.”
DWTC’s ultramodern kitchen, with 3,650m² of working area, allows for full in-house production and has been awarded the highest Dubai Municipality rating every year since opening in 2003.
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