Chonburi PAO President Wittaya Kunplome
(left) presents a plaque thanking Pattaya Mail Media Group Deputy
Managing Director and Skål International Pattaya & East Thailand
President Tony Malhotra (right) for sponsoring the Pattaya Food &
Hoteliers Expo ’13.
Warunya Thongrod
Top hotel chefs from ten countries joined Thailand’s best culinary artists
for the 7th Pattaya Food & Hoteliers Expo.
The Aug. 8-10 event at the Royal Cliff’s Peach Convention Center featured
more than 20 contests in everything from fruit carving and drink-mixing to
deserts and Thai set menus. Cooking contests pitted professional chefs
against each other and offered opportunities for rising university stars to
try their hand at deserts, plate arrangement, Thai and European dishes,
flower arranging and cocktail mixing.
Jarinth Suttiwaja shows off his
bartending skills in the Mekong Pattaya Signature Drink Menu Search
competition.
In its third year, the Culinary Cup international chefs
competition featured teams from Australia, Cambodia, Czech Republic, China,
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan squaring off against
their Thai counterparts under the watchful gaze of the World Association of
Chefs Societies.
Seventeen teams of four chefs worked in four hours to assemble an 11-course
buffet for 20 people using 80 food items. The real challenge came in that
the meat to be used in the main course was not announced until two hours
into the competition.
The Hong Kong team, for the second straight year, took first place and the
HRH Princess Sirindhorn Trophy and $3,000. Australia’s team finished second
for the second consecutive year, and Thailand managed to finish in the top
three for the first time.
The Royal Cliff Hotels Group
took top honors overall, with 18 medals in 11 categories including five
trophies and nine gold medals from the food and beverage, housekeeping and
spa competitions.
The Royal Cliff Hotels Group took top honors overall,
with 18 medals in 11 categories including five trophies and nine gold medals
from the food and beverage, housekeeping and spa competitions. The Woodlands
Hotel & Resort placed second.
Udorn Sermbootr, executive sous chef, called winning the HRH Princess
Sirindhorn trophy “an incredible achievement.”
“Our team must be commended for their constant attention to detail and their
relentless pursuit of excellence in their specific crafts,” he said. “”This
proves that the Royal Cliff Hotels Group, through the efforts of its
dedicated staff, continuously strives to improve its exceptional services
and the quality and excellence of its cuisine.”
The event, sponsored by Pattaya, Chonburi Province, the Tourism Authority of
Thailand, Pattaya Chefs Association, Eastern Housemaid Administration Club,
Thai Eastern Food Administrators and Beverage Association, was also a venue
for more business representatives to show off their food and beverage
products, tools, equipment and household items used in the hotel and
restaurant industries.
The Hong Kong team is ecstatic
about winning the Pattaya City Culinary Cup 2013.
In addition, there were workshops on wine, cuisine,
coffee, conventions, and marketing.
“This expo has proven the development in the creativity of hoteliers,
showing the world the outstanding services of Thai hotels,” said Chonburi
Provincial Administrative Organization President Wittaya Kunplome.
Among the major awards, The A-One Royal Cruise took first in the overall
housekeeping contest, with the Long Beach Garden and Royal Cliff taking
second and third places, respectively.
In the spa category, the Centara Grand Mirage Beach resort placed first with
Spa Silavadee and Na Spa taking the runners-up.
Yuppharat Wongdowngul (2nd
right), President, F&B Management Association Eastern Region of Thailand,
poses with the top three winners in the Mekong Pattaya Signature Drink Menu
Search, including winner Ubon Masuk (2nd left) from Mountain Beach Hotel
(middle).
The professional chefs competition was won by the Centara
Grand, with the Zign Hotel taking second and Woodlands third.
The Woodlands also won first in the junior-chief competition, with Suan
Dusit Rajabhat University placing second and Jinwen University of Science &
Technology placing third.
Other notable winners included the A-One Royal Cruise for the “Ms.
Congeniality” award, Niphaphon Phasuk of Spa Silavadee for the Best Massage,
and Phatkanlaya Ruengkoolsiritana from the Royal Cliff for Best Swedish
Massage.
Rattanachai Suthidechanai (4th
right), head of Pattaya’s Tourism and Sports Department joins in a thumbs up
with this year’s judging committee.
Judges try to decide the winner
in the Tapas Display Competition.
The Holiday Inn Pattaya team won
four awards, including three silver and one bronze.
Participants in the Thai Massage
Competition massage the judging committee.
Young chefs from Jinwen
University of Science & Technology work hard designing food in the Tapas
Display Competition.
The Woodlands Hotel & Resort
placed second with a total of 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 9 bronze
medals and 2 consolation prizes in various competitions categories.
This chef is concentrating hard
whilst decorating a cake in the Wedding Cake decoration contest.
A One The Royal Cruise Hotel
celebrates their win in the Ms. Hotel Congeniality and Best Thai Clothes &
Floral Design competitions.
