Chefs Association calls on Tourism Minister

The Chefs Association of Ghana paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi.

The purpose of the visit was to congratulate the Minister on her appointment and to present their awards won as well as request for support to liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase Ghana’s local cuisine and equally invite various embassies and diplomatic missions in the country to embrace this initiative.

The first trophy presented was the WAFFEST Best main dish and the second being the Overall Best Cuisine in West Africa.

The trophies were earned by the Ghanaian Chefs on their participation at the West Africa Food Festival (WAFFEST), an occasion that is aimed at highlighting the practical ways and innovation of local cuisine to be able to meet international standards as well as to be a staple menu offering in restaurants locally and internationally.

WAFFEST aims at strategically projecting local cuisine and ingredients and in the same vein project other sectors within the tourism value chain. More importantly WAFFEST brings nations and communities together to boost food tourism. Moreover, long lost recipes, native to tribes and tongues would experience revival as domestic tourism is projected and promoted. Countries that competed in the WAFFEST included Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Togo and Nigeria.

The other trophies presented were Gold in “Chefs in Green Cooking” competition, Silver in Mystery Basket Cooking and Third place in the Students in Skills Challenge earned by student chefs in training at the Hospitality All African People’s Imbizo Festival (HAAPI) held in South Africa recently. These competitions brought out spectacular display of cooking skills and plating techniques from participating countries.

The HAAPI event witnessed 16 countries participating in various activities and competitions aimed at strengthening and promoting African Chefs cuisines across the continent. The event was characterised by workshops and mentoring sessions held at the Johannesburg Stadium in South Africa. Chefs across the continent were advised to be innovative and business minded.

The Minister congratulated the Chefs and urged them to add more innovation to local dishes to meet international acceptable standards and ensure quality service delivery.