Winter 2009 - World class Wessex

The 2010 Wessex Salon Culinaire is set to stage WorldSkills UK hospitality competitions at Bournemouth.

The quest to find the UK’s best chefs is underway with entries now open for the 2010 Wessex Salon Culinaire. Ambitious chefs and restaurant service professionals in employment, training or education have until March 9 2010 to enter online to take part.

The event at the Hotel & Catering Show in Bournemouth from March 16-17 will for the first time in the competition’s history include the prestigious WorldSkills UK cooking, confectioner/pastry chef and restaurant services competitions.

To enter these three categories, contestants will need to compete in three out of five classes in the relevant disciplines, and the winners may be selected to represent the UK at the 2011 WorldSkills competition, said to be the largest skills event in the world, in London.

Deputy director of Skills Competitions Parisa Shirazi says: “UK Skills are delighted to be working with Wessex Salon Culinaire to deliver the WorldSkills UK hospitality competitions. We have joined forces with the salon culinaire to engage with the wide audiences this event attracts across further education and industry.”

The 2010 salon culinaire, in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs and WorldSkills UK and sponsored by Nestlé Professional and Coastline Produce, will include hot and cold live competition classes designed to attract newcomers, 23 years and under, as well as veteran chefs.

Other top competitions taking place will be the Nestlé Professional’s CHEF at Salon, the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier Student Chef of the Year and the Chefs’ Forum sponsored by Coastline and Bournemouth & Poole College.

Over the years, the Wessex Salon Culinaire has provided a platform for new chefs to showcase their talents. Well known past competitors include current Knorr National Chef of the Year, Simon Hulstone, chef owner of the Michelin starred Elephant Restaurant in Torquay. He encourages his own team of chefs to enter the Wessex event to gain recognition on a wider scale and highlight the excellent work they are doing.

He says: “As a seasoned competitor and employer of young chefs, the Wessex Salon Culinaire is ideal for my team to become acquainted with competition experience. The classes represent skills and classical knowledge and also hand a real test to anyone – from Michelin standard to first year student. It is a great salon to break into the competition scene.”

Joe Li, commis chef at The Sandbanks Hotel who took part in Nestlé’s CHEF at Salon last year, became a first time gold medal winner. He says: “Winning CHEF at Salon in 2009 has been one of the defining moments of my career so far.

Competing under the critical eyes of the judges also provides a taster of the intense pressure chefs are under in the industry.”

The two day Hotel & Catering Show at the Bournemouth International Centre will feature the latest industry products, services, food and drink, as well as provide tasting sessions and live demos.

• For further details about the Wessex Salon Culinaire, contact Deborah Jones on 01425 485048 or book online www.hotel-expo.co.uk/wsc

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