Jeddah Open Cooking Championship has attracted many local chefs and remained a big draw among the visitors of Food, Hotel and Hospitality Arabia Exhibition 2016 held at Jeddah center for Forums and Events. Officials of Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions explained that providing the platform and extensive facilities required by Jeddah Open Cooking Championship underlines their strong commitment to the hospitality industry. "It is an inspirational cooking competition that highlights the best of the best within the culinary industry in Saudi Arabia. Saudis and non-Saudis leading chefs compete across 12 categories whilst being evaluated by international judges. Local chefs showcase skills and explore new networking partnerships in an exciting and action-packed setting," said Yasser Jad, president of Saudi Arabian Chefs Association. He stated that the main aim of this competition is to find very young talented chefs to build their talents for the future and off course to upgrade the hospitality industry here in Saudi Arabia. Speaking also about the competitions, Thomas Gugler, executive master chef and WACS continental director Africa& Middle East added: "It gives us great pleasure to welcome and help the junior members of the industry by giving them the opportunity to take part in the competition. The standard of entries at Jeddah Cooking Competition is always high, and the event is a formidable test of a young chef's personal courage and determination to develop and improve their culinary skills." Gugler said that around 200 amateur and professional chefs from across Jeddah have signed to compete in this year's competition. The number of contestants has increased in both live cooking and showpiece categories this time and also the number of Saudi competitors has also marked a significant increase, according to Gugler. Gugler stated that the registered chefs' dishes will be judged by a panel of professional chefs from all over the world. Jointly organized by Nestle, Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle and World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) and Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions, the four-day event has attracted many visitors this year.
