Culinary Olympians head for the Lake District

A team of culinary Olympians will be setting up a training camp in the Lake District later this year.

The Welsh Culinary Team will be visiting the Waterhead Hotel in Ambleside in October to prepare for the International Culinary Olympics in Germany.

Every four years the world's top chefs and pastry chefs compete to show their expertise and know-how in the culinary arts, with the ultimate hope of being crowned the Olympic champions. This year the event will take place in the German town of Erfurt from the 18th to the 22nd of October.

The executive chef at English Lakes Hotels, which includes The Waterhead, is also the captain of the highly rated Welsh Culinary Team.  Lee Jeynes is bringing his team up to the Lakes to practice some of the dishes they will be creating for the Olympics. Lee says: "The International Culinary Olympics is the biggest international contest in the profession.  We all take it very seriously so this practice session will be invaluable preparation for the big event in Germany."

Lee has previously led the Welsh Culinary Team in preparing banquets for a number of leading international statesmen including The Emperor of Japan and Nelson Mandela.  They have also cooked for the Queen and Prince Charles as part of the State Opening of the Welsh Assembly.

Lee and his team will be preparing a competition standard three course meal at The Waterhead Hotel's Bay Restaurant on Wednesday the 1st of October.  

This year's culinary Olympics will see the biggest gathering of culinary professionals ever, with 40 national teams, 90 regional teams and 11 military teams.  A total of 2000 chefs and pastry will be taking part. The event starts with a Parade of Nations where chefs from around the world, dressed in white and bearing their national flags, will march into the Erfurt exhibition halls. The competition itself includes a hot kitchen section, where participants have to prepare an elaborate meal with several courses, and a cold platter show.

For more information on The Waterhead visit www.elh.co.uk To find out more about the culinary Olympics visit www.olympiade-der-koeche.de
An image of Lee Jeynes in The Waterhead Hotel's Bay Restaurant is attached. A higher resolution image is available. For further information please contact Paul Gardner or Jon Perkins, Osprey Communications, on 015394-42436.
English Lakes Hotels on the shores of Lake Windermere is a family owned and run group of hotels with five very individual properties, four of which are situated in the Lake District and one close to Lancaster. The hotel group was established by the Berry family who purchased 4 hotels between1952 and 1975, followed by their first green field site build, Lancaster House Hotel, in 1991. www.elh.co.uk

Words: Sheila Eggleston

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