Author: France

HORECA, the annual
meeting place for the hospitality and foodservice industries, closed its doors
on March 23, 2018, rounding off a spectacular four days at Beirut’s Seaside
Arena. Spotlighting the latest innovations and trends in the hospitality and
foodservice industries, the event was hailed a resounding success, bringing
together more than 350 exhibitors from countries including Australia, Belgium,
Brazil, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Nigeria, Turkey, Spain, Syria, UAE and the USA.

More than 30
international culinary, beverage and hospitality experts shared their expertise
during a jam-packed program of more than 25 daily events, competitions and
workshops including the Annual Hospitality Forum, which featured an impressive
lineup of speakers tackling tough topics in hospitality. Elsewhere, the Hospitality
Salon Culinaire and Junior Chef Competition boasted even more action with
additional competitions, providing a platform for young talents and
professionals to showcase their skills. HORECA’s other events included the
Lebanese Barista Competition, the Lebanese Bartenders Competition, the Bed
Making Competition, the Art of Service Competition, Atelier Gourmand and the
National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Contest.

Over 18,000 trade
professionals attended the 2018 edition of HORECA to discover the newest products
and to take advantage of the show’s unique networking opportunities.

Held under the
patronage of Lebanese Minister of Tourism, H.E. Mr. Avedis Guidanian HORECA’s
25th edition opened on March 20 under the theme “From Lebanon to the World,”
giving eminence to the country’s traditional flavors. During the ceremony,
five Lebanese pastry shops were honored by Hospitality Services and the
Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Night-Clubs, Cafes and Pastries, for their
pivotal role in elevating Lebanese cuisine. The recipients included: Amal
Bohsali, Hallab Qasr el Helou 1881, Al Baba Sweets, Douaihy and Rafaat Hallab.

Managing director of
Hospitality Services, Joumana Dammous-Salamé said, “The growth in attendees and
exhibitors year-on-year reaffirms HORECA’s position as the key trade-only event
in the region and the place where hospitality and foodservice professionals,
decision-makers, experts and participants unite. We are committed to providing
what the industry needs and build on our past successes.”

The Hospitality Salon Culinaire

For its 19^th
edition, the Hospitality Salon Culinaire put the skills of more than 300 of the
most promising chefs to the test. Through four days of intense competitions,
challenges, live cooking and display contests, the culinary stars were chosen
by a panel of top international judges.

The Jury panel:

Organizing
Committee:

Joe Barza             
        The Lebanese Terroir
Culinary Artist

Maroun Chedid             Owner of Maroun Chedid SAL

Charles Azar          
      President of the delegation
of L’Academie Nationale de Cuisine Middle East and Gulf countries

The Jury:

Domenico Maggi           Continental Director for Europe South,
Italy

Francois Pozzoli            Best Craftsman of France “Baker”
2004, Founder of the World Bread Contest

George Damianou         President Cyprus Chefs Association

Guillaume Gomez          Best Craftsman of France, President of
the French Republic Chefs

Khalid Abu Eid               President of the Jordanian Chefs
Association

Lucien Veillet                  President of L’Académie Nationale de
Cuisine, France

Tarek
Ibrahim                 Certified Master Chef of Meat and
Livestock, Australia

Thomas A. Gugler          President
of the World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS)

Henri Poch            
       Best Craftsman of France

Tony Kitous          
        Founder of Comptoir Libanais
Group, UK

Mehmet Gok                 Director of Culinary Dogus
Group Hotels Turkey

Samaan Hilal                  Head
of the Hospitality Salon Culinaire Kuwait, Managing partner Brainsteam –
Kuwait/Lebanon

Eric Briffard          
        Best Craftsman of France, Executive Chef and
Director of the Culinary Arts at Le Cordon 

                                     Bleu, Paris

Mohamad Mousa            Banquet
Chef, Four Seasons Hotel Damascus, Syria

Pascal Molines                Best Craftsman of France, World Champion
in Pastry, France

Zyad Hilal             
        Active member in Kuwait Chef
Club, Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, Academy national de cuisine,

                                    member
of  HORECA Kuwait Hospitality Salon
Culinaire organizing committee

Lebanese army
Competition guest judges:

Youssef Akiki           
Executive Chef Burgundy Beirut

Souheil Ghazal          Executive
chef at Le Royal Hotel – Beirut

Guest Chef:

Mustafa Seif             
Winner of Top Chef Middle East Season 2

Gold Winners:

HORECA the annual
business meeting place for the hospitality and foodservice industries in
Lebanon, hosted a Judging Seminar on Wednesday 21 March 2018, a first for the
country.

The seminar was
led by Chef Domenico Maggi Chef, lecturer at the catering college in Bari
(Italy), who is known as an ambassador for Puglisi and Italian cuisine. Maggi
is a Worldchefs approved “A” judge and instructor for Judging
Seminars. He is also a Continental Director for southern Europe.

A total of 12 chefs
from Lebanon and the region attended the seminar and had the chance to
participate as shadow judges the next day during the Hospitality Salon
Culinaire competitions at HORECA.

As a result of the
training, the chefs were able to increase their knowledge and understanding of
judging and are now on track to work on their profile and fulfill the
requirements in order to become Worldchefs approved judges.