JEDDAH — The 7th Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2019 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events on April 21 – 23 will be lit up for a third straight year with the fired-up competitive spirit of the chefs, who will be cooking up a storm in the Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition.

Following its successful run for two years, the 3rd Culinary Competition is returning to the Kingdom’s premier food and hospitality trade event with more hotels battling against each other by putting forward their top chefs to showcase exemplary cooking styles, creativity and share culinary expertise in a live kitchen environment.

Endorsed by Worldchefs, the Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association, Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle and Official Tableware Sponsor, Rak Porcelain, and competition sponsor Almarai the event will witness its most competitive line-up to date — with 16 kitchens from some of the Kingdom’s leading hotels presenting their unique & exquisite wares in a bid to be crowned champion.

The Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition is an interactive platform that attracts the Kingdom›s top chefs to compete against each other in an open environment while exhibiting their talent & fare to the public.

The organizers have kept this year’s theme a surprise in order to make the challenge more interesting, as the 16 competing teams, from all over the Kingdom, will present their wares to international judges, including Thomas A. Gugler, President Worldchefs and Yasser Jad President and Founder of Saudi Arabian Chefs Association (SARCA) who will test & taste the chefs’ creation.

Gugler, who said it’s always a great feeling for all the involved team members and judges to determine the winners, stressed on the need for surprise in setting a challenging completion to the competing teams.

“It is always a very challenging battle at the Hotel Show KSA as the best team should win and you can see so many different techniques, approaches, skills, ideas and inventions in cooking,” Gugler said.

“It’s a stunning and sparkling event covering the majority of restaurant and hotel establishments which are excited by the challenge in finding the best cooking and restaurant team in KSA,” he added.

“A big thanks goes to the organizers dmg events which are doing a fantastic and marvelous job every year,” Gugler said as the organizers geared up to set up a competitive culinary fare fit for all.

Yasser added “The ‘Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition – Mystery Box Challenge’ is returning to Saudi Arabia with a bigger line up of hotels and resorts for its 2019 edition, battling it out to be recognized as the country’s finest hotel kitchen”.

The live cooking competition will be judged on a 4-course menu (Cold Starter, Soup, Main Course, Dessert — 4 plates each) within 3 hours. They will use the contents of the ‘Mystery Box’, containing some tricky ingredients, to dish up their eye-catching novelty. The ‘Mystery Box’ ingredients will only be revealed to them once the teams have stepped inside the kitchen.

The teams will be judged on speed, creativity and innovation, taste, nutrition and health, balance and harmony of menu, low waste, and correct preparation, cutting and slicing skills, utilization of food products, clean and neat method of working as well as competition spirit.

To cook an impressive, tasty four-course meal from unfamiliar ingredients is a challenging feat for any chef, and this competition is an ideal platform for chefs in the Kingdom today, especially with a wealth of new hotel and restaurant concepts opening with so many international dining options on the agenda.

The judges will sample each dish created, before crowning the winners.

The Inter-Hotel Culinary Competition – Mystery Box Challenge will take place throughout The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events with a series of heats each day until the winner is revealed on the final day of the event (April 23). — SG