MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL GOURMET FESTIVAL 2013 IS LAUNCHED TO GREAT FANFARE!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

The Festival Gala Launch

MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL GOURMET FESTIVAL (MIGF)

Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Friday, 6^th September 2013

“Cool Chefs – Cooking With Attitude”

We all know Dato Steve Day and his mIGF are sizzlingly hot and this proves it!

White man in black

The 13^th Malaysia International Gourmet Festival was launched in the usual, glitzy and glamorous fashion on Friday 6^th September 2013 at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre. Attended by more than 1,500 guests including royalty, celebrities, ambassadors, sponsors and established figures in the country, it was declared open on the centre stage of the Theatre of Cuisines by MIGF Royal Patron himself, YAM Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja’afar, Tunku Laxamana Negeri Sembilan, in the company of 28 of the coolest Chefs, representing the best restaurants in the country.

On the pre-launch stage, MIGF Organising Chairman Dato’ Steve Day appeared – James Bond-Matrix Neo style, in a trenchcoat and a pair of sunglasses, escorted by pretty young ladies and armed with a few tricks up his sleeves before making his welcoming speech. They then cut through the giant chef hat to receive a chefs’ welcome in the Epicure International Gourmet Village first; and in the Theatre of Cuisines 10 fancy stiltwalkers ushered the Royal Patron and Organising Chairman to the front of the stage, with the Alma Latina band building up the atmosphere. The converted ballroom space was a sight to behold, with 8-feet tall candle-lit walls surrounding the VIP area, warm crystal moon lamps and of course, the creatively constructed restaurant stations themselves.

Ritmo Latino dancers took it up a notch with sexy Salsa moves in the opening act before the cool chefs were called up on stage in sync with the video on large projector screens; and the occasion was marked with Tunku and Dato’ Steve Day joining the chefs to declare the start of the Festival. From then on it was a night of feasting and entertainment.

The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival is the globally acknowledged, month-long event promoting  premium dining to the nation and the world.  This year’s theme is “Cool Chefs – Cooking With Attitude”, and is an exciting platform for the Festival’s brilliant Master Chefs to out-do themselves in fierce but friendly competition. Having witnessed ever-increasing success each year since its inception in 2001, MIGF is the region’s premier and most celebrated fine food event, and  now officially a part of Tourism Malaysia’s “Fabulous Food 1Malaysia” initiative.

COOL CHEFS BREAK THE ICE

Surrounded by the Master Chefs of this year’s Festival and under a sea of confetti, MIGF Royal Patron Tunku Naquiyuddin declared MIGF 2013 and the spectacular preview event, Taste MIGF, officially open. Tunku Naquiyuddin has honoured the Festival as its Royal Patron since the Festival’s inception thirteen years ago. And he was the image of pure cool, sporting fashionable Ray Bans, making his declaration much to the delight of the distinguished gathering in the spectacular Theatre of Cuisines. This year’s theme, “Cool Chefs: Cooking with Attitude” was perfectly personified by the said Cool Chefs who flanked the Royal Patron and MIGF Organising Chairman, Dato’ Steve Day. 

 

Dato Steve Day being welcomed by hot chefettes

Now it is the turn of Dato Steve Day to welcome the Royal Patron and Guest of Honour YAM Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar of Negeri Sembilan

Tunku Laksamana and Tunku Nurul Hayati

Just prior to the official launch, the invited guests - and a host of interested onlookers - assembled in the foyer of the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre. There was a marked Royal presence in the guest audience, together with a raft of VVIPs including Mr Trevor Bull, CEO of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad, Mr Paul Ho, Senior Executive Director of Fujifilm, many more of the capital's captains of industry, and who's who of KL’s society. All settled, Dato’ Steve then appeared, making his way to the stage, dramatically garbed in a long black trenchcoat and shades, escorted by four stunning chefettes. Standing initially with his back to the audience, Dato’ Steve suddenly spun around, whipped off the shades and started his welcoming remarks. But not before raising more than a laugh or two with a couple of magical tricks that had everyone asking themselves 'how on earth did he do that?'!

In his speech, and on a more serious note, Dato’ Steve emphasised the importance of the camaraderie between the top F&B market leaders, especially the MIGF restaurants - helping to strengthen the industry as a whole. He also thanked all sponsors, including the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Zurich Insurance, Kronenbourg 1664, Land Rover, Fujifilm, U-Mobile, MHTC and Vision Four as well as media partners including Astro, AFC, Melody FM, Seni Jaya, Lite FM, and Vision KL. Mainly, however, Dato’ Steve exhorted his guests to simply enjoy themselves with the sumptuous offerings laid out in the Theatre of Cuisines, to take full advantage of the Festival proper throughout October and visit as many of the restaurants as possible.

Dato’ Steve and Tunku Naquiyuddin then made their way over to the giant chef hat, and with a swipe of the knife, let the crowds into the Epicure International Gourmet Village and then the Theatre of Cuisines. The fun continued as each of the Festival Master Chefs were introduced, one by one on stage, culminating in a spray of pyrotechnics as the culinary stars posed on stage with the Organising Chairman and Royal Patron.

YAM Tg Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar and Dato Steve Day returning to their seats

YM Tunku Dara Tunku Naquiah Tuanku Jaafar and VIPs

ALL ABOUT THE BEST IN DINING

Decked out with 28 of the participating restaurants in this year’s Festival, the atmosphere inside the Theatre was electric as the crowd took their Super Gourmet Safari and made their way around the perimeter, sampling the delicious morsels of food immaculately presented. From the luxurious elegance of The Restaurant, serving up such heavenly delights as salmon viudo, sea bass bouillabaisse and sweet corn veloute, to the blended fusions of Nook, offering up lobster and abalone Sarawak Laksa, smoked scallop with sushi and wagyu beef rending with turmeric coconut rice, the spread on display was tantalising in every respect, with the crowd wolfing down the bite-sized portions as they sauntered around.

As always, the who’s who of KL were in attendance, including members of the media and the foodie blogosphere, who were invited to take a tour of the Theatre of Cuisines before the launch gambit. Situated next to the Theatre was the Epicure Gourmet Village, which was open to the public for a special preview earlier in the day. Over 80 exhibitors of the finest gourmet products, from wines to cigars, from caviar to oysters, from cigars to brandy and much more, were on display inside the Village, including a special promotion by Panasonic with the chance to win a RM10,000 prize.

Congratulations!

YAM Tg Naquiyuddin and YAM Tunku Nurul Hayati cheering the chefs

A FESTIVAL LIKE NO OTHER

The night rolled on until the wee hours, with rhythmic beats from the Alma Latina band, punctuated by Ritmo Latino professional Salsa dancers on the dance floor and gorgeous and impressive stilt walkers that made their way around the venue. Taste MIGF continued on for a further two days, with the Theatre of Cuisines and Epicure Gourmet Village, as well as a myriad of cooking classes and workshops taking place on the upper floor of the convention centre.

TASTE MIGF

The Spectacular Preview Event For The

Malaysia International Gourmet Festival

Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Saturday, 6^th and Sunday, 7^th September 2013

Is this a food fest or what?

The fabulous feast of fun and food continued on at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre with Taste MIGF obviously and enthusiastically accepted by a horde of KL folks – natives and visitors alike.

Guests, restaurants alike had an absolute ball of a time, partying on at the Theatre Of Cuisines and browsing through the myriad delicacies on offer in the Epicure International Gourmet Village. There, the atmosphere was electric; apart from the fabulous food and delicious drinks, the music was non-stop, keeping everyone on their toes with a selection of smooth latin beats. Revelers were throwing shapes on the dance floor right up until the end of the night, interspersed by hot dance routines from professional Salsa dancers and appearances from the multi-coloured stilt walkers.

The workshops, especially the cooking classes, were packed with rapt audiences picking up invaluable tips and cooking secrets from our world class chef instructors. Chef Michele Cuozzo's Squid Ink Pasta  proved overwhelmingly popular, and as the charming Italian chef divulged secret after secret of the age old recipe (handed down from his great-great grandmother no less), on-lookers soaked up the instructions like a sponge, eagerly asking questions and tasting the progress at various points in the demo.

Over at the Epicure International Gourmet Village a buying frenzy was taking place, with avid food lovers snapping up delicious gourmet offerings – from cheeses, wines and other beverages to cigars and an assortment of irresistible goodies. The Trinidad Cigar Company drew crowds with their unique cigar rolling demonstrations, and the Southern Rock Seafood stand proved extremely popular with the range of freshly imported seafood from New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Fine de Claire oysters were snapped up like hot cakes over the course of the event.

Taste Tokens were flying off the counters as guests took multiple Gourmet Safaris around the Theatre, sampling as many of the bite-sized portions as possible. As always, Chef Nathalie's macaroons were a huge hit, as was the gorgeous Yorkshire pudding with pulled beef at Arthur's Bar & Grill. Each tasting portion, however, proved as delicious as the next and each restaurant booth recieved hordes of the hungry gourmands.

Back in the Theatre of Cuisines, a special culinary performance was taking place on the dance floor, courtesy of the captivating Chef Reya of Kiraku Japanese Restaurant. She moved through her routine with comfotable ease, flicking spatulas and knives, and ending with a special onion-ring fire volcano.

All In all, it was a fantastic weekend and a true eye-opener for the thousands of visitors – local and overseas – who when asked, said they couldn’t wait until Taste MIGF 2014!

Words From The Sponsors

Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab , Director General of Tourism Malaysia

The support of the Sponsors and Media Partners is paramount to the Festival, not least of which comes from Tourism Malaysia. Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, puts forth that “…the Festival shines the spotlight on Malaysia’s dining scene making it world famous and attracting more higher-income tourists to our shores. MIGF has done a great job over the last 13 years – and we applaud its success.”

Trevor Bull, CEO of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad,

Further support this year comes from Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad, the Official Insurance Partner. “Zurich is delighted to be the official insurance partner for MIGF 2013. At Zurich, we pride ourselves at being committed to our customers and the communities in which we live and work. We hope that through premium quality food, we can extend that same commitment that we provide premium quality services to our customers,” says CEO, Trevor Bull.

Henrik Anderson, MD Carlsberg Malaysia

Carlsberg Malaysia are once again offering Kronenbourg 1664 Lager and Kronenbourg Blanc as the “Official Beers of the Festival” and  “…look forward to sharing with, the tens of thousands of diners at the participating restaurants, an even greater variety of brands for MIGF 2013” – MD Carlsberg Malaysia, Henrik Anderson.

Dr Mary Wong, CEO of Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council

The “Official Health Partner” is the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council, with CEO Dr Mary Wong mentioning that “It is with great pleasure that MHTC can now say that Malaysia is one of the world's Top 10 healthcare travel destinations and our fabulous food continues to be a key ingredient…Keep up the good work, MIGF”.

Other sponsors include U Mobile as the “Official Mobile Service Provider”, Fujifilm as the “Official Imaging Partner” and Range Rover as the “Official Car” of the Festival.

The fabulous support of the Festival Media Partners continues this year, with Astro Malaysia Holdings, Astro Radio Sdn Bhd (with broadcasting radio-spots from Lite FM and Melody FM), Asian Food Channel, Seni Jaya for billboard coverage across the city, and finally Vision Four and Vision KL for their nationwide publicity.

Impact on Malaysia’s F&B Industry

Last year, Festival Restaurants generated annual receipts in excess of RM150 million, however the trickle down effect of the Festival extends far beyond this. MIGF impacts the entire F&B industry as well as raising the bar each year by fostering friendly competition between the market leaders. Not to mention, the country’s top chefs and F&B professionals become role models for young people joining the industry, who see a future in Malaysia rather than taking their skills elsewhere.

LIST OF FESTIVAL RESTAURANTS IN THE THEATRE OF CUISINES

1.    Arthur’s Bar & Grill – Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

2.    Lafite – Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

3.    Bunga Emas – The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur

4.    Dynasty – Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel

5.    Sagano – Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel

6.    Five Sen5es – The Westin Kuala Lumpur

7.    Prego – The Westin Kuala Lumpur

8.    Qba Latin Bar & Grill – The Westin Kuala Lumpur

9.    Grill 582 – BEST WESTERN PREMIER Dua Sentral

10. Lai Po Heen – Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

11. Mandarin Grill – Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

12. Nook – Aloft KL Sentral

13. Samplings On The Fourteenth Restaurant – Berjaya Times Square Hotel KL

14. The Restaurant – The Club, Saujana Resort

15. Tuscany Restaurant – Putrajaya Marriott Hotel & Spa

16. Midori Restaurant – Putrajaya Marriott Hotel & Spa

17. Seasonal Tastes – The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa

18. Blu Med - Blu Med Ristorante e Bar

19. Chakri Palace – Rotol Food-Chain (M) Sdn Bhd

20. Cuisine Gourmet By Nathalie – Nathalie Gourmet Studio

21. Kelantan Delights – Kelantan Delights Sdn Bhd

22. Kiraku Japanese Restaurant – Shaftsbury Capital Sdn Bhd

23. Marini’s On 57 – Mont Oro (M) Sdn Bhd

24. Minori – Multiple Reward Sdn Bhd

25. Nerovivo – The Nero Group

26. Tanzini – Sonata Vision Sdn Bhd

27. Ten Japanese Fine Dining – Sushi Train (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

28. Tarbush Restaurant – Restoran Tarbush Delicacies Sdn Bhd

FESTIVAL PARTNERS & SPONSORS

1.     Principal Sponsor

       Vision Four Media Group

2.     Principal Partner

       Tourism Malaysia

3.     Official Mobile Service Provider

       U Mobile

      

4.     Official Insurance Partner

Zurich

5.     Official Health Partner

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC)

6.     Official Car

       Range Rover (TBC)

7.     Official Beer

Kronenbourg 1664

8.     Official Car

Range Rover

9.     Official Imaging Partner

Fujifilm

FESTIVAL MEDIA PARTNERS

1.     Astro

2.     LiteFM

3.     Seni Jaya

4.      Vision Four

5.     Vision KL

IMPORTANT DATES

1.       The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival

1^st to 31^st October 2013

www.migf.com

2.       Taste MIGF

7^th – 8^th September 2013

Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

www.tastemigf.com

i. Super Gourmet Safari
Saturday, 7^th and Sunday, 8^th September 2013
Theatre of Cuisines, Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Saturday and Sunday: 11am to 11pm
Entry: Free for Taste Token Holders

Payment Method: Only with Taste Tokens

Buy Taste Tokens: www.tastemigf.com

ii. Epicure Gourmet Village
Friday, 6^th, Saturday, 7^th and Sunday, 8^th September 2013
Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre
Friday; 11am to 4pm

Saturday and Sunday: 11am to 11pm
Payment Method: Cash and Credit Cards

iii. Epicure Lifestyle Workshops

Saturday, 7^th and Sunday 8^th September 2013
Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre
Saturday and Sunday; 12noon to 7.30pm
Payment Method: Free Admission for Taste Token Holders
Registration: Limited space, please pre-register at www.tastemigf.com