The Top Chef contest, which has become an interesting and popular part of the International Food, Hotel, Propac Arabia (FHP Arabia) exhibition, will go international in a year or two, according to Thomas A. Gugler, board member of the Saudi Arabian Chefs Association (SACA) and joint organizer of the competition. The competition is jointly organized by SACA and Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE), which is also the organizer of FHP Arabia. “For sure in the next one or two years we will make the Top Chef contest international with chefs coming from abroad,” Gugler, who is also manager, menu costing and planning, executive master chef, Saudia Catering, told Saudi Gazette. “It is an interesting contest as chefs can really display their knowledge and skill, which sometimes they cannot do in their properties as they are under too much stress and pressure. Here they have the freedom to show their art,” Gugler explained. He said that 450 chefs participated in the contest last year. First staged during the 2002 edition, Top Chef attracts chefs eager to display their culinary skills and win the award. Art de Table, introduced in 2006, has hotels and restaurants compete for the award of best table display. The international panel of judges headed by Gugler, who is from Germany, includes Uwe Micheel, a German from Dubai; Alan Palmer, Sri Lankan of Swiss nationality; George German of Switzerland; Noel Ramos of Philippines; and Daniel Prabhakar of India. “SACA was founded last year by Saudia Catering. It is important for the country to do something for the hospitality industry. The association has nearly 150 members, and in a short time the figure will run into thousands,” Gugler said. He said that the competitors are from all over the Kingdom, with a majority from Jeddah. They are from big and small hotels, small establishments, restaurants, and coffee shops, he added. “Lots of Saudi chefs are participating as many Saudis are joining the trade. It is a good challenge for them,” he said. Gugler said that Art de Table is a competition in which the best restaurants and hotels in the city and the country participate to show their ability and skill in the art of display with the professional set-up of table ware, chinaware, and cutlery.
