Dubai World Trade Centre’s commitment to excellence in hospitality was rewarded at this year’s Emirates Salon Culinaire Chefs’ competition, with the UAE institution winning the highest number of medals in the international contest, as well as the overall award for Best Individual Organisation.
In total, DWTC hospitality participants were awarded eight gold medals, 11 silver and 20 bronze in fields as diverse as chocolate-carving, table decoration, cake decoration, ice-carving and traditional Arabic Mezzeh.
DWTC chef Lifeng Dong, the only participant to win three gold medals, was named as “Best Kitchen Artist in the UAE” during the competition, while Pradeep Kumar Das received the “Best Hygiene Award”.
The event attracted over 1,000 young chefs from across the region, many from leading five-star hotels and restaurants, with extremely fierce competition in all categories.
Executives at DWTC believe such overwhelming industry support fully validates their ongoing investment in hospitality facilities and services.
Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre explains: “Hospitality is an important part of the business of Dubai World Trade Centre, playing a role not only in our exhibitions and conferences, but ensuring our excellent reputation in delivering the highest quality of service to weddings all over the region.”
“Our team has worked hard to distinguish themselves through the international quality of both food and presentation, even in a market as competitive as the UAE, and we congratulate them of their success in this major competition,” he added.
Innovation and presentation have long been the hallmark of the Hospitality team at DWTC, which regularly caters to major events of up to 6,000 people, both at DWTC-managed venues and off-site.
In particular, the team has developed a strong reputation for bringing haute cuisine concepts to traditional Emarati dishes, as well as providing one of the most international menus available anywhere in the Middle East.
One of its most high profile venues, The World Trade Club, provides a wide range of international cuisine, including authentic dishes from every continent, with a particular emphasis on gourmet food from the Middle East, Europe, Far East and the Indian Subcontinent.
The Food & Beverage division of DWTC was also one of the first institutions in Dubai to obtain HACCP, or the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, certification, in recognition of the centre’s adherence to the highest levels of hygiene and safety requirements in the food service industry.
