CULINAIRE MALAYSIA IS BACK! FROM 17 TO 20 SEPTEMBER AT KL CONVENTION CENTRE

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

CULINAIRE MALAYSIA IS BACK

TOGETHER WITH FOOD & HOTEL MALAYSIA (FHM) 2013

Never Ending Quest for the Best!

The Malaysian Association of Hotels, Chefs Association of Malaysia and the Malaysian Food & Beverage Executives Association will be dishing out the 11^th Culinaire Malaysia from 17 – 20 September. Held once every two years, this renowned event showcases the country’s best culinary arts and food & beverage service skills.

First held in 1993 in Kuala Lumpur, this internationally acclaimed event is currently endorsed by World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) and the Ministry of Tourism & Culture. Held alongside Food & Hotel Malaysia (FHM 2013) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Culinaire Malaysia will once again draw a gathering of more than 1000 chefs, bartenders, F&B personnel from hotels and restaurants, students of culinary academies and apprentices from the nation as well as international teams all the way from Germany, Russia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia who will be vying for 17 individual/team awards. To maintain its high standards, 86 renowned judges from the international culinary and beverage world have been invited to the prestigious Panel of Judges.

“It has always been our hope to encourage and upgrade the culinary standards of Malaysia and, at the same time, also provide the opportunity to Malaysia’s chefs and international chefs

to showcase their global flavour”, said Dato’ Shaheen Shah, Vice President of Malaysian Association of Hotels.

The Organising Chairman, Mr. Sam Cheah, who is also the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Association of Hotels commented, “This is our 11^th edition that will feature 34 categories; cold display, patisserie, pastry cup challenge, artistic, butchery skill, hot cooking, team challenge, pub challenge, F&B gold opulence service and many more. It will be a stiff battle as everyone is vying to be the top.”  “The event also includes the Asean Bartenders Championship to be held on 19^th September 2013 with bartenders from the Asean region who will compete in a face-off. It will be an event not to be missed,” he adds.

“In conjunction with Culinaire Malaysia 2013, Malaysia is also proud to host the Asean Hotel & Restaurant Association (AHRA) Conference 2013 on 19^th September with the theme, “The New Age Hospitality - Solutions for the next generation of hoteliers”. The theme is fitting as the proliferation of the internet has revolutionized the way our industry works. The conference focuses on how the industry can move forward to leverage on this,” adds Dato Shaheen Shah. The conference will feature high profile speakers from the IT industry such as Ms. Tay Shen Li, Head of Internal Communications and Internet Strategies from CIMB Group; Mr. Varinderjit Singh, Vice President of Enterprise Business from Samsung Electronics Malaysia; Mr. Clifford Manifold, Regional Sales Director of Precor Incorporated; Mr. Gregory A. Duffell, President of Creative Advances Technology and Mr. Pearly Lim, 4G/LTE Program Manager from DiGi Telecommunications. “We would like to express our utmost appreciation to Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre for being the host venue and as always providing us with their unwavering support to run this mega event,” adds Organizing Chairman, Mr. Sam Cheah.

“Our congratulations to the Malaysian Association of Hotels, for once again organising the spectacular Culinaire Malaysia. As the venue sponsor, the Centre is honoured to host this event that encourages friendly competition amongst local chefs, inspiring then to further hone their skills to the benefit of the Malaysian hospitality industry,” added Datuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Said FHM 2013 organiser Alun Jones, General Manager of Malaysian Exhibition Services Sdn Bhd, “A total of 1,400 exhibitors from 50 nations and an estimated 20,000 visitors are expected at this premier show. The spin-offs to the Malaysian economy under the MICE sector will be positive and boost the Tourism Ministry’s targeted 26.8 million arrivals in 2013 and RM65 billion in tourism receipts.

“Based on figures from Tourism Malaysia, the 25.03 million tourists who visited Malaysia in 2012 spent about RM60.6 billion. We envisage that the overseas participants and visitors will take the opportunity to visit the other attractions of Malaysia after FHM 2013 is over,” said Alun Jones.

Keeping up to its status as “Malaysia’s Official Food and Hotel Show”, FHM2013 is fully supported by the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Chefs Association of Malaysia (CAM), the International Food & Beverage Association (IFBA), the Malaysian Food & Beverage Executives Association (MFBEA) and is endorsed by MATRADE.

Some of the key players in the industry taking part in FHM 2013 from both the local and international scenes include brand names such as Boncafe, Carlsberg, CB Frozen, English Hotbreads, Eurochef, F&B Equipment, Global Pacific Victory, Guinness Anchor Bhd, Kian, Lucky Frozen, Nestle, NKR Continental, Pastry Pro, SCC Corporation, Sinmag Bakery Equipment, United States Potato Board and Wong Brothers, with their showcase of their latest products.

Among the international groups, the Japan Pavilion makes a comeback to the FHM series and there will be two new pavilions from Greece and Turkey. Taiwan will again be the largest and in fact the biggest ever Taiwan pavilion at FHM with the participation of 44 companies organized by TAITRA – Taiwan External Trade Development Council with the objective to promote manufactured Taiwanese food and food products in the Malaysian market.  Other international groups include Korea, USA and Singapore.

Taking place alongside FHM 2013 will be The Workshop on Malaysian Halal Standards, Certification and Auditing designed for those interested in Malaysian halal certification, especially for those who want to sell or export their products and services or be recognized as ‘Halal Certified’ by Malaysia. This is also a venue for participants to share their knowledge and experiences in managing halal products and services to be compliant to the standard and succeed in obtaining halal certification.

FHM will also feature Malaysian celebrity Chef Sherson Lian and Executive Chef at Tanzini Restaurant, Chef Johnny Fua who will conduct live cooking demonstrations at selected exhibitors’ booths during the show based on a fixed programme, utilizing ingredients and equipment of the exhibitors at their booths.

Tickets to Culinaire Malaysia and Asean Bartenders Championship 2013 (both located at Hall 6) are priced at RM 10.00 per entrance. Conference seats for the Asean Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRA) Conference are RM 800 per participant and are claimable under HRDF.

FHM 2013 is opened from 10.00 am – 6.00 pm daily from September 17 - 19 and from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on September 20.  The exhibition is opened to professional, trade and business visitors only.  Pre-registration is opened online via www.foodandhotel.com until September 13, 2013.

About Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH)

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) is the umbrella body for hotels in Malaysia formed in 1974 and initially established by a group of concerned and dedicated hoteliers to bring about a more dynamic hospitality industry aimed at building a workforce of highly skilled, innovative and disciplined individuals. Its long term goal was to enhance the efficiency of the hospitality industry, thus, bringing about a more dynamic Malaysian hospitality industry. MAH, as the official national network for the hotel industry, represents 555 hotels throughout Malaysia supplying a total of 108,541 rooms which is more than half the number of hotel rooms available as guest accommodation in this country. With 13 chapters across the nation, MAH acts as a voice of the industry, working as one body to promote, protect, represent and advance the interests of its members.

About MAHTEC

MAHTEC Sdn Bhd commenced its fiscal year in 1998 to profile MAH as a human resource development provider and to upgrade the skills and knowledge of staff-in-service in the industry. MAHTEC is the training arm of the Association specializing in developing quality human resources in the hospitality industry. Highly specialized in the areas of Hospitality Skills Training and Managerial Development Training, all programs are facilitated by experienced and qualified Trainers through workshops and practical session.

About Malaysian Exhibition Services Sdn Bhd

Incorporated in 1980, MES is the pioneer and the largest exhibition organiser in Malaysia. A Malaysian-owned company under the chairmanship of Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, MES has vast experience in organizing highly successful and well-attended, business-generating international exhibitions. Currently, MES runs a quality portfolio of trade exhibitions and conferences in Kuala Lumpur over a two-year calendar. The hugely successful Oil & Gas Asia (OGA) is one of the key exhibitions in the company portfolio. In addition, MES also managed events on behalf of Government agencies and associations. MES is affiliated to the Allworld Exhibitions Alliance of exhibition organisers, managers and consultants whose members have been organising trade shows for over 30 years and currently organise over 150 trade exhibitions biennially. Allworld carries out international sales and marketing on behalf of MES Sdn Bhd through Overseas Exhibition Services Ltd (OES) and International Expo Management Pte Ltd (IEM), both members of Allworld.