The semi-final of Young Chef Young Waiter Macao Competition pit young local catering professionals against each other at the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) today (17 September). MGTO supports this industry event to encourage young catering personnel’s reach for a higher level of expertise and international competitiveness, which will contribute to Macao’s offer of quality tourism experiences and its sustainable development as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
The competition is organized by Macau Culinary Association with the support of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), IFTM and Wynn Macau.
World final in Monaco this November
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the sector keenly seeks to engage local catering professionals in the international competition. The Macao competition lets young catering personnel compete for the chance to take part in the World Young Chef Young Waiter. 16 young local chefs and catering servers aged under 26 with a minimum of three years of hospitality experience joined the semi-final of Young Chef Young Waiter Macao today (17 September). Selected by professional judges, eight semi-finalists are entering the Macao final next month, when one chef and one catering server will be selected ultimately to compete with their international counterparts from England, Cayman Islands, Ireland, Wales, the United States, Canada and India at the World Young Chef Young Waiter final in Monaco this November.
Professional contest with scrupulous appraisal
Headed by Worldchefs Certified International Judge (certified by the World Association of Chefs Societies), Perry Yuen, a panel of five judges appraised semi-finalists on the following criteria for culinary arts: appropriate application of professional skills, good use of key ingredients, overall balance of menu as well as taste, texture and flavor. Coordinator for Food and Beverage Programmes at IFTM, Edwyn Tam, led another judging panel of five to assess the performance of catering servicers in terms of table setting, cutlery layout and catering service knowledge. In this semi-final, four chefs and four catering servers from Macao were chosen to enter the Macao final, to be held at Wynn Palace next month.
MGTO believes that participation in this prestigious competition of World Young Chef Young Waiter, boasting over four decades of history, inspires the new generation in the local catering sector to strive for professional enhancement. They can widen their horizons and gain valuable experience through exchange with other international contestants on the global stage, which will propel their attainments of greater culinary expertise, catering service knowledge and skills.
Advancing Macao’s development as a Creative City of Gastronomy
Following its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017 (www.gastronomy.gov.mo), Macao formulated and unfolded a succession of action plans stage by stage and submitted the first four-year monitoring report last year. Since 2017, MGTO has been collaborating with different governmental entities, institutes and businesses in various forms to promote Macao’s development as a Creative City of Gastronomy together. The initiatives include organization of the International Gastronomy Forum, workshops and seminars for educational training, launch of the Macanese Cuisine Database, production of culinary learning videos, participation in activities held by other member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and so forth.
Since 2014, MGTO has been rolling out the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme (QTSAS) (https://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/page/content.php?page_id=219) to support the overall advancement of tourism service quality in the industry, and encourage members of the tourism and related sectors to jointly enhance Macao’s offer of excellent travel experiences.
MGTO will maintain close collaboration with industry operators in organizing different training opportunities for tourism and related industry professionals, to bolster the local catering industry towards a brighter future. The Office will push forward the initiatives for Macao’s development as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in accord with the action plans and together with the trade, steering Macao’s tourism development towards diversification and sustainability.
