Welsh chefs abandon hopes of cooking in Singapore due to volcanic ash

Chefs from the Welsh National Culinary Team have abandoned hopes of cooking in a prestigious competition in the Far East due to the Icelandic volcanic ash, which has grounded all flights from the UK.

Ten chefs were due to fly out to Singapore last Thursday to compete for the first time in the FHA Culinary Challenge, which begins tomorrow (Tuesday). But team manager Graham Tinsley was forced to call a halt at the weekend when Emirates Airline told him the earliest possible flight from Manchester was on Thursday or Friday this week.

Instead of preparing for the competing in the humid conditions of Singapore, the dejected chefs are grounded in Wales after months of planning and perfecting dishes for the event, which is recognised as Asia's premier culinary contest.

Mr Tinsley, co-owner of The Castle Hotel, Conwy, has been left feeling totally frustrated but also philosophical. Luckily, he was able to abandon the trip before team member Lee Jeynes had left his home in Australia for a weekend flight to Singapore.

He is now wading through all the paperwork and checking the fine print of the team's insurance policies to recoup money spent on the competition. He's also trying to arrange for all the team's equipment to be returned from Singapore.

"Luckily, all the equipment hasn't been taken out of the boxes, so it's just a matter of returning it to the UK," said Mr Tinsley. "I'm having to undo everything that I have been working for over the past 12 months.

"The team members are totally depressed because we were just four hours away from flying when flights from Manchester were stopped. Had we flown a day earlier it wouldn't have been a problem, but may have been stuck out there.

"Although it's very disappointing, we are probably a bit further ahead with our preparations for the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg in November. We are meeting up as a team on Wednesday night."

Words: Clare Riley

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