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Worldchefs jury to test skills of around 300 chefs at Salon Culinaire in Qatar

November 2017, Qatar: Around 300 professional chefs from more than 40 hotels and restaurants in Qatar are competing for this year’s much anticipated Salon Culinaire, one of the main highlights of the third annual Hospitality Qatar to take place from November 7 to 9 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
“The three-day event will feature a large variety of activities including B2B matchmaking for visitors and exhibitors, product launches which allow exhibitors to showcase their new and existing products and most especially the Salon Culinaire which is Hospitality Qatar’s signature showcase where 300 professional chefs will compete in 27 categories which include Qatari cuisine as well,” said Yuksel Mutlu, Treasurer of Qatar Culinary Professionals.
Qatar Culinary Professionals in partnership with IFP Qatar is organising Salon Culinaire set to be bigger than its previous edition as a way to show Hospitality Qatar’s commitment to the country’s expanding hospitality industry, said Mutlu.
Salon Culinaire this year witnessed an increase in terms of participation compared to its previous edition which saw 260 chefs compete in 17 various categories.
Culinary luminaries from around the world have been invited to comprise the jury for the exciting competitions.
“Chefs’ masterpiece creations will be judged by World Chefs jury from different countries which includes the president of World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) Thomas Gugler and other international culinary professional judges,” added Yuksel Mutlu.
The Salon Culinaire is a battle where local chefs will go head to head to showcase their talents. It serves as a great platform for the chefs to show their skills and uncover hidden talents to an international field of judges from World Chefs to win best chef honours for their field.
In addition to the competitions of WACS, contestants and winners will also compete to win titles such as Best Chef, Best Cuisinier, Best Chef Artist and Best Chef Arabic Cuisine of the Year for Qatar, said Mutlu.
The competition includes a Qatari cuisine category which was introduced last year to promote Qatari food and encourage chefs to further hone their skills in preparing local cuisine.

 

Reprinted from The Peninsula Qatar’s Daily Newspaper: http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/01/11/2017/Salon-Culinaire-to-test-skills-of-around-300-chefs

 

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News Press Releases

Taste & Share Feed the Planet launches app to combat food waste

OCTOBER 2017: According to the UN’s Food & Agriculture organization, one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption – approximately 1.3 billion tons – gets lost or wasted each year. Electrolux has teamed up with local NGOs in Poland to develop an app for individuals and organizations to share food that might otherwise have ended up in the bin. 

Feed the Planet partner Electrolux worked together with local NGOs in Poland to develop the Taste & Share app which enables individuals and organizations to share food which might otherwise be wasted. Nonprofits especially will benefit from this app.

“Some nine million tons of food are being wasted in our country alone. With this app, we want to change habits,” says Dominika Kosman, Head of Corporate Communications, Electrolux Central Eastern Europe. “Little steps can lead to big changes in our daily lives.”

The app, which is currently only available in Polish, is not like any other app currently available in the country. “Its reach is powerful due to the fact that we have partners in different cities throughout Poland,” says Kosman.

How the app works
The Taste & Share app can be downloaded on the App Store (for iPhone) or on Google Play (Android phones).

It works like this: once you have downloaded the app, you need to register. Then you fill out a form explaining the type of product you are offering (preserves, sauces, fruit, vegetables, etc.), expiry date and a photo. The only rule is that the food has to be fresh and in date. If, on the other hand, you want to find food, the geo-location shows you current food offers on the map. 

Kicked off earlier this year, Taste & Share (a Feed the Planet project funded by the Electrolux Food Foundation) is showing how consumers can waste less food. With 1.3 billion tons of food being wasted globally every year (source), a lot can be done in this area.

About Feed the Planet

Feed the Planet is an initiative to inspire sustainable food consumption among communities and professionals, and to support people in need through emergency relief, food poverty alleviation, and education. Founded by WORLDCHEFS, it is run in partnership with Electrolux and AIESEC, and supported by an international network of chefs passionate about creating better food, better lives and better futures across the globe.

 

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Cook with herbs, spices and fruits bursting in every gram of Dilmah’s 4 new teas & infusions!

OCTOBER 2017: Dilmah t-Series presents a collection of teas that are known around the world only for their excellence. Teas so different that there is a tea for every mood. This range presents a vast range of designer gourmet teas which now includes 4 new teas and infusions made with an array of herbs, fruits, spices and the finest Ceylon green tea grown and harvested at over 6500 ft. above sea level.

  • Dilmah Natural Infusion of Blueberry and Clove
    • Bright and medium body with a minty finish (Caffeine free)
  • Dilmah Peppermint, Cinnamon and Clove
    • Intense with a fragrant and naturally sweet finish (Caffeine free)
  • Dilmah Ceylon Green Tea with Lychee and Ginger
    • Bright and delicate in the cup with a mildly spicy fragrance
  • Dilmah Elderflower with Cinnamon and Apple
    • Gentle and aromatic with a lingering floral finish (Caffeine free)

Tasting notes: http://bit.ly/2gdpoo3

 

Get creative with Dilmah tea inspired gastronomy and mixology!

Await your very own copy of these tea inspired recipes and pairings with the next WorldChefs Magazine.

 

Write to us at hospitality@dilmahtea.com for more tea inspired

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News Press Releases

WORLDCHEFS is hiring! Seeking a Sales, Marketing & PR Manager

 

We are looking for a candidate who equips with sales and marketing skills. We offer a 10 months CDD contract to replace a PR & Marketing Manager on parental leave. If candidate fulfils the expectation, he/she will potentially transfer to Sales and Business Development Manager role, CDI after fixed term contract.

***Please apply with your CV and motivation letter in English at connie@worldchefs.org with title “Application of Worldchefs Sales & Marketing Manager_YOUR NAME”. Application without a motivation letter will not be considered. ***

 

Role Purpose (November 1st 2017 , 10 months CDD)

 

  • Leading and giving strategic direction to the Communications Team and taking ultimate responsibility for all PR & Marketing activities within the organization.
  • The website being the first port of call for many people approaching us – the PR & Marketing Manager oversees the development of the main website as well as associated web platforms; our presence on social media sites and the production communication material for use on the website and in the field.
  • Expand our education programs such as certification, recognised schools, sustainability education
  • Increase organization’s revenue .

 

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Marketing: (80%)

  • Responsible for creating, advising management on, and implementing a dynamic organisation-wide communications marketing strategy to build brand awareness and promote programs, activities, services, and impact
  • Lead content strategy for all digital and traditional channels and communications / marketing collateral including Worldchefs magazine; develop mission, message and brand messaging and ensure they are disseminated professionally and effectively across digital platforms (e.g. web, social media, e-newsletter), print channels (magazines, brochures) and at events
  • Project manage communications-driven programs and initiatives; for example – oversee the execution on-deadline and on-message for all Worldchefs owned-media platforms (social media, website, e-newsletter, magazine); International Chefs Day, other
  • Devise and create analytics reports about digital platforms (eg. web, social media, e-newsletter) that can be used to inform development these platforms; recommend strategies for maximizing digital engagement from communities and growing subscribers / audiences
  • Lead social media content strategy & planning with the goal to disseminate key messaging, enhance our reputation, respond quickly to members and partners needs and to increase engagement and maximize collaboration with partners
  • Lead user-journey / content strategy for Worldchefs website updates; oversee web developments with IT team providers
  • Build relationships with stakeholders (member associations, partners, hospitality industry leaders) to improve cross-communications and grow awareness / brand equity of Worldchefs
  • Media relations – develop media relations strategy and grow relationships with international media to build brand awareness and approving all media communications
  • Branding – managing growth of image library, develop and implementation of brand guidelines
  • Provide mentorship and guide the work of the communication team to ensure they work effectively and professionally and have the right tools to carry out their duties
  • Maintaining good relations and liaising with key partners and contractors
  • This job description reflects the current requirements of the role. As duties and responsibilities change and develop, this will be reviewed and will be subject to amendment in consultation with the post-holder.

 

Sales and Business development: (20%)

 

  • Establishes sales objectives by forecasting and developing annual sales quotas for regions and territories; projecting expected sales volume and profit for existing and new products.
  • Implements global sales programs by developing sales action plans.
  • Completes national sales operational requirements by scheduling and assigning employees; following up on work results.
  • Achieve growth and hit sales targets by successfully working with teams.
  • Design and implement a strategic business plan that expands organisation customer base and ensure it’s strong presence
  • Build and promote strong, long-lasting customer relationships by partnering with them and understanding their needs
  • Present sales, revenue and expenses reports and realistic forecasts to the board of directors and management team
  • Strong business sense and industry expertise
  • Seeking opportunities for business development within education, culinary and hospitality sectors.
  • Responsible for heading up their expansion in new markets as well as continued expansion among existing clients.
  • Building relationships with existing clients (schools, hotels and hospitality industries) in an attempt to increase their current spend.
  • Driving peak performance and sales success across the organization.
  • Creating, negotiating and closing commercial agreements.
  • You will be instrumental in devising and implementing the strategy for meeting sales performance targets.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS

  • A bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration or a related field
  • Experience in internet and digital media and social media
  • Previous experience from gastronomy, food service or hospitality industry
  • Excellent planning and organisational skills and with ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
  • Superior project management and time management skills, comfortable to deal with deadlines and can do attitude.
  • Successful previous experience as a sales representative or sales and business development manager, consistently meeting or exceeding targets
  • Ability of meeting Sales Goals, Negotiation, Selling to Customer Needs, Motivation for Sales, Sales Planning, Building Relationships, Coaching, Managing Processes, Market Knowledge, Developing Budgets, Staffing
  • Proven track record in sales, business development and winning new business.
  • Proven track record of increasing revenue through generation of leads.
  • Show an understanding of the challenges facing the hospitality and culinary industry at present and illustrate a knowledge of the operational attention to detail that will be required to succeed within the industry.
  • Ability solve tough problems, handle pressure and meet deadlines
  • Skill in prioritizing and triaging obligations and attention to detail
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. French, Spanish, German and other languages is a plus
  • Copywriting – create and update all internal and external communications collateral as needed (for example letters to members) is a plus
  • Self-motivated with a positive and professional approach to colleagues and management. Ability to work with teams in an international environment.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and other IT tools essential.

 

Job location

At Worldchefs head office in central Paris

 

Start date

November 2017

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/cap/view/455182688/

Applicant shall hold a working permit to work in France.

 

About us – Worldchefs is a thriving global network of more than 100 chefs associations. Founded nearly a century ago in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris, with the venerable August Escoffier as first Honorary President, Worldchefs is a global authority on food, establishing impact through leadership and action in three core areas: education – providing ongoing world-class professional development across all culinary levels and creating the world’s first global culinary certification; events & competition – providing a gateway to global networking & learning opportunities, including at its core the biennial Worldchefs Congress & Expo, home to the Global Chefs Challenge where the world’s best chefs meet to compete; and global impact – delivering humanitarian and sustainability initiatives which create better lives, better food and better futures for all of our communities across the planet through advocacy, partnerships, and passion.

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News Press Releases

Worldchefs Pastry Judging Seminar is here! Register today!

OCTOBER 2017: Pastry chefs don’t miss your chance to join us for a one-day intensive Worldchefs Pastry Judging Seminar!

The seminar is mandatory for chefs interested in becoming Worldchefs Approved Pastry Judges, but is open to everyone – aspiring competitors, trainers, event organisers – it will give you the skills and insights you need to thrive in international culinary competition – whatever your role!

 WHY ATTEND – JUDGES?

  • Participants will receive a certificate for taking part in the seminar; this certificate is mandatory to become a Worldchefs Pastry Judge
  • Being a Worldchefs Judge will give you the opportunity to attend prestigious culinary events worldwide while developing your culinary skills & those of others!
  • [Please note that the certificate does not automatically qualify candidates as an Approved Judge – additional evidence and documents are required. For more information about how to become a Worldchefs Judge, please click here]

 

WHY ATTEND – COMPETITORS?

  • As a competitor attending a Worldchefs Pastry Judging Seminar, you will gain invaluable knowledge on how to focus when competing.

 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

  • Learn all aspects of the pastry program for Worldchefs endorsed competitions, from petits-fours to plated desserts and centrepieces;
  • Carefully review all the rules in detail and broken down point by point to provide a clear and thorough understanding of what the judges are evaluating;
  • Learn from the best – hundreds of recent competition photos; do and don'ts of successfully participating in and judging Worldchefs pastry endorsed competitions right down to the details like logistical and transportation tips and awarding points to participants

The seminar is created and taught by expert global pastry Chef Gilles Renusson, Worldchefs Culinary Competition Committee.

VENUE
INTERGASTRA
03 – 07 February 2018 World of hospitality
Landesmesse Stuttgart GmbH Messepiazza 1 70629 Stuttgart

COST
200 EUR [includes full-day seminar, take-home materials and lunch].

REGISTER HERE: https://www.worldchefs.org/pastry-seminar

 

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International Chefs Day News Press Releases

Strawberry-inspired brunch for International Chefs Day in Jamaica

October 2017, Jamaica: The cool and hilly terrain of Content Gap, St Andrew was the site for strawberry-inspired Brunch on the Farm last week Wednesday. “This is just an absolutely splendid venue,” country manager of Nestlé Jamaica Daniel Caron told Thursday Food . “We're delighted, on behalf of Nestlé, to be here, to share with the children and reinforce healthy lifestyle. Plus, we are on a strawberry farm and so are able to incorporate them as part of a balanced diet.”

The brunch, a prelude to Nestlé's International Chefs' Day celebration, dubbed 'Foods for Healthy Heroes', was an initiative to raise awareness and healthy eating habits among children and as such included students and staff from St Jude's and Seaview Gardens Primary schools.

Guest of honour was the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Member of Parliament for East Rural St Andrew Juliet Holness. Holness, whose initiative it was to focus on high-value niche crops like strawberries that would flourish in the cooler climates of East Rural St Andrew, was proud to partake of the brunch that included locally grown strawberries.

“I found this morning an absolute delight,” she told Thursday Food. It is wonderful in that it promotes strawberries that we have been pushing in Jamaica. However, it was very special because we were promoting healthy eating and I think it's a commendable and noble gesture on behalf of Nestlé, having our children appreciate that they should have a healthy, balanced diet and that fruits, particularly strawberries, can be used in unique ways to create great menu options.”

Using freshly picked organic strawberries grown by community farmer Fitzroy Mais, From Thought to Finish's Chef Jacqui Tyson highlighted the versatility of strawberries by creating tasty and nutritious meals including the 'Mix Up & Blenda', containing Cheerios layered with strawberries and topped with Lucky Charms, an entrée of triangular waffles topped with strawberries, French crêpes filled with glazed strawberries, and strawberry smoothies. The children, who were flabbergasted that healthy eating could be so delicious, eagerly tucked into their meals.

The initiative closed in fine style on Friday, October 20 with Nestlé's celebration of International Chefs' Day. Selected children were invited to the Nestlé Jamaica corporate office's show kitchen where they joined Chef Jacqui Tyson and created their own healthy dishes. See Pages 15-17.

 Article reprinted from Jamaica Observer: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/thursday-life-food/nestle-brunch-on-the-farm-everything-strawberry-_114379?profile=1271

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International Chefs Day News Press Releases

Jamaica celebrates International Chefs Day under the

October 2017, Jamaica: Banana Powered French Toast, Broccoli and Cheddar Power Puffs, Professor A & Mr Strong's Wonder Smoothie and Vision Masters' Colourful Salad were the creations for Nestlé's International Chef's Day celebration at their corporate office Friday last. Aptly themed 'Foods for Healthy Heroes', the excitement and energy were palpable in the Nestlé show kitchen as selected students from Ensom City Primary, St Francis Primary, Seaview Gardens Primary, Hazard Primary, St Jude's Primary, St Theresa's Primary, Free Town Primary, Lannaman's Preparatory and Alvernia Preparatory were given the opportunity to transform healthy recipes into 'Healthy Heroes'.

The interactive session, led by Chef Jacqui Tyson and her From Thought to Finish team, saw students don chef hats and aprons ahead of being placed in groups and preparing child-friendly dishes that were stipulated by the World Association of Chefs' Societies.

To bring the event closer to home, Chef Tyson added a fifth Healthy Heroes treat for the children, which she named Running Bolt. The energy-packed Running Bolt, a combination of yam, cheddar cheese, onion, breadcrumbs, butter and heavy cream, was a tribute to the fastest man in the world Usain Bolt, and found favour with the students.

Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton, who made a much-appreciated guest appearance at the event, enthralled with his Professor A & Mr Strong's Wonder fruit-laden smoothie. Students were further encouraged by him to eat healthy. “It's a great initiative,” he told Thursday Food. “It's important that we teach our children the importance to their long-term health of eating a balanced diet; it must be a lifestyle they develop.”

Part of the Nestlé Healthy Kids programme, the cookery workshop, was a company initiative to promote children's nutrition, health and well-being. The Nestlé Healthy Kids programme's commitment is to help 50 million children lead healthier lives by 2030.

Reprinted from Jamaica Observer: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/thursday-life-food/healthy-healthy_114640?profile=1237

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International Chefs Day News Press Releases

Kids from New Zealand create veggie heroes for International Chefs Day

October 2017, New Zealand: Students from Gisborne Intermediate and Makauri schools traded pencils for utensils to celebrate International Chefs Day.

Gisborne Intermediate ran a special workshop that focused on “the heroes of vegetables”.

Students learned how to make an orange and carrot salad, broccoli salad with raisins and hummus, as well as other healthy recipes.

“It’s all about turning kids on to healthy cooking,” said chef Sue Matthews of Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).

“Learning to cook is so important and we focused on cooking with fresh produce. It’s also about making cooking fun.

Smoothies were also on the menu. Budding young cooks were encouraged to try different combinations, using carrots, celery, bananas, strawberries and cranberry juice.

International Chefs Day was a global event during which the New Zealand Chefs Association and Nestle New Zealand ran chef-led workshops in schools around the country.

Ms Matthews, the adult community education coordinator at EIT and an active member of the Chefs Association, is enthusiastic about getting kids hooked on growing and cooking their own food.

“I believe we, as chefs, have a greater responsibility and role to play in our communities. We have the knowledge and skills to create nutritious food, which has a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing. By passing these to the younger generation, we can bring enormous benefits to them and their whanau.

The Ministry of Health’s New Zealand Health Survey 2015/16 revealed that 11 percent of Kiwi kids were obese and a further 21 percent were overweight.

Nestle New Zealand country manager and chief executive, Christian Abboud, said these statistics highlighted the importance of people working together to “create a healthy tomorrow for today’s children”.

“Being able to prepare a healthy meal is a fundamental part of enjoying a healthy diet as adults.

“International Chefs Day workshops give children the chance to have fun and be creative with food while they prepare supercharged meals using the superhero foods that are the focus for this year.”

Reprinted from Gisborne Herald: http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/3058328-135/veggie-heroes-as-students-hit-kitchen

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City & Guilds and Worldchefs scoop top prize for innovation : Federation of Awarding Bodies’

October 2017: On Thursday 19 October Leader in skills development City & Guilds, and global chefs’ network Worldchefs scooped the top award for innovation of the year at the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) annual conference.

The pair won the award after collaborating to create an innovative new online tool that allows chefs to earn a globally recognised professional certification without even having to leave the kitchen. The tool was developed by Digitalme, a City & Guilds Group company that specialises in digital credentialing.

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Managing Director of City & Guilds, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised by FAB for innovation in our work with Worldchefs on this global culinary certification tool. The award is an important acknowledgement of the success of the Worldchefs certification and the benefits it is already bringing to the culinary industry.”

“Technology is transforming the way people learn and develop their skills globally and we believe that digital credentialing is the start of a revolution in the way skills are recognised across the world. The culinary industry is leading the way and I hope that many more industries realise the potential of digital credentialing over the coming years.”

In 2016, Worldchefs and the City & Guilds Group created the new digital platform which allows chefs to be fully recognised for their experience gained whilst working in the industry. Using the tool, participants can verify their expertise at nine different levels which include professional cook, master chef, master pastry chef and culinary educator.

The Worldchefs Global Culinary Certification is a first in the culinary industry and enables experienced chefs, cooks and culinary educators, as well as students who are embarking on their careers, to have their skills and experience validated by the industry professionals at Worldchefs whilst earning the stamp of quality that the City & Guilds brand assures.  It is available to employers, training institutions as well as individuals.

The certification uses a digital currency, called ‘open badges’, that has been developed by DigitalMe, and allows chefs to showcase their skills and experience online, on social media and job sites, giving employers instant information on what individuals have achieved.

Chris Kirk, Managing Director of Digitalme, said: “We are so proud to have helped City & Guilds and Worldchefs win this FAB award for innovation. The tool we created together is already helping people and organisations across the culinary industry to truly articulate the huge range of skills they have at their disposal which would have otherwise been invisible to them. With this anyplace and anytime assessment and recognition model, we can play a part in tackling the global skills shortage that the culinary industry faces with portable and trusted recognition that moves across borders.”

“The Worldchefs certification focuses on closing the gap between the skills employers in the culinary industry need and the skills they can see – by helping individuals to clearly promote when they have met the standard and creating a trusted forum to share and have these validated online.”

 John Clancy, Director of Education at Worldchefs, said “We are extraordinarily honoured that our work on the global recognition tool has won the FAB Innovation of the Year Award. For every hardworking and aspiring chef across the globe, the Worldchefs certification offers a unique – and much needed – solution. It makes it easier to get skills validated, to grow careers and to help raise professional culinary standards globally. We are delighted to see the certification gain such meaningful industry recognition for these goals and look forward to continuing to certify chefs from Ecuador to Sweden to Taiwan.”

If you would like to find out more about the Worldchefs global certification please visit www.worldchefs.org/certification.

If you would like to find out more about the power of digital credentialing visit the DigitalMe website http://www.digitalme.co.uk/

ENDS:

 Notes to Editor

  • The City & Guilds Group (cityandguilds.com) is a global leader in skills education. Approximately two million people are currently working towards City & Guilds qualifications, which are offered in more than 20 industry sectors.
  • The City & Guilds Group operates in 80 countries, with regional offices in Malaysia, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Dubai, South Africa and New Zealand. City & Guilds is incorporated by a royal charter and its president is HRH The Princess Royal. Any surpluses made through its work is reinvested into education or used for student support programmes.
  • Digitalme, A City & Guilds Group Business, offers digital credentialing services to help organisations and individuals realise their potential by making all skills visible – digitalme.co.uk.
  • The Open Badge Academy (OBA) is an online marketplace and evidenced-based assessment platform, developed by Digitalme, that enables organisations to offer people opportunities to discover, evidence and gain recognition and endorsement, using Open Badges, for the in-demand skills they need to transition into employment and progress in their career – openbadgeacademy.com.
  • Open Badges is a global, open digital credentialing (certification) standard for the recognition of formal, informal and non-formal development – https://openbadges.org .

 

  • Worldchefs is a thriving global network of more than 100 chefs’ associations, founded nearly a century ago, in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris, with the venerable August Escoffier as first Honorary President Worldchefs is a global authority on food, establishing impact through leadership and action in three core areas:
    • Education: providing ongoing world-class professional development across all culinary levels and creating the world’s first global culinary certification
    • Events and competition: providing a gateway to global networking and learning opportunities
    • Feed the Planet: delivering humanitarian and sustainability initiatives which create better lives, better food and better futures for all of our communities across the planet through advocacy, partnerships, and passion.
Categories
GCC News

Jasmine Nadres: Lotte’s golden child and regional Global Chefs Challenge winner

Take one glance at the three dishes Jasmine Nadres submitted to the recently concluded Global Young Chefs Challenge South Pacific Region competition held on island, and it's clear the young gold medalist is headed for big things in life.

The competition falls under the umbrella of the Global Chef's Challenge Series, which is run by the World Association of Chefs Societies. Better known as “Worldchefs” in the culinary world, the international organization is dedicated to maintaining and improving the culinary standards of global cuisines.

It recently held its regional competition on Guam, where Nadres blew the other competitors out of the water with an amazing three-course meal.

Nadres' dishes sound like something you would order at a restaurant far too expensive for the average person – flounder & lobster mousse paired with local micro greens and dragon fruit with orange vinaigrette and cilantro oil; pan-seared veal tenderloin and sweetbreads served with sautéed fall vegetables, rustic butternut squash and split peas in a pan demi; and a pineapple and milk chocolate mousse with coconut gel, assorted fruit medley and macadamia nut brittle in an Earl Grey tea sauce.

Yet during her interview with The Guam Daily Post, she made a surprising admission: Even with nearly 10 years of being a kitchen pro, she still gets shakey in the knees.

“It was the most nerve-wracking competition I've ever done,” Nadres said, although we find that hard to believe. Nadres has the confident poise and quiet dignity that comes from earning the position she holds at Lotte Hotel Guam – at just 23, the ProStart and Guam Community College Culinary Academy alum is already a junior sous chef who manages the hotel's banquet kitchen.

‘One of the committed ones’

When she talks about food, it's clear her knowledge is rock-solid. Also, her resumé is a mile long. This latest achievement of hers – beating out young chef representatives from Fiji, Austrailia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands to take gold – is one of several, and is indicative of the work she's put into her career.

“I wasn't just a regular student,” the GCC class of 2016 alum tells the Post. “I was one of the committed ones.”

Indeed she was. Her stint in the Simon Sanchez High School ProStart kitchen was a door opener, which led her to an internship and employment with the Hyatt Regency Guam. While still in high school, the upstart ProStart ward was an on-call kitchen assistant at first, sharpening her knives and skills with real-life experience.

Nadres and her fellow Shark chefs took first place in back-to-back ProStart islandwide competitions in 2011 and 2012, which earned her trips to the National ProStart Culinary Invitational in the states. And right after graduation, she took no break whatsoever, jumping straight into GCC Culinary Academy during the summer session.

When asked what kept her hungry for success in the culinary world, Nadres said she's grinding now so she can be a boss later.

“I'm young but I'm not getting any younger. I want to knock everything, so then I can have time for myself later on. I don't want to be working as an executive chef in 10 years. I want to be able to open my restaurant. I want to be an owner.”

And if she does happen to be working as a chef in the future, she sees herself in a Michelin-rated dining establishment.

In the meantime, she's having a great time at Lotte, where she's worked since 2015. What she's been enjoying is the new direction she's taken under the mentorship of her fellow, more senior Lotte chefs.

Nadres says in her experience she's been allowed to implement her own kitchen standards as well as recipes and dishes.

“That's what's good about the Lotte, because they have a standard but they can adjust to what you want to put out,” Nadres tells the Post.

It's easy to find something inspirational about Nadres' accomplishment, vision and drive. But when it comes to Nadres, the people she finds inspiration in are her parents, Jesusa and Jose Nadres.

 It was Jesusa's love for cooking Filipino staples like pinakbet, adobo and dinaguan that was the younger Nadres' first foray in the culinary world.

 “My best inspiration is my parents; they cooked at home. The best cook in my life is my mom. Old-school Filipino dishes – she's got it all down.”

Eating at the dinner table was always something she looked forward to growing up. When both her parents were working while Jasmine Nadres was a teenager, dinner was the time the whole Nadres family could get together to forget about the day and just chat.

“That was our bonding moment as a family. My mom always said we can't go to bed with an empty stomach, so she was always there to provide that for us.”

Nothing beats Mom's cooking.

But even if she's now an award-winning junior sous chef, she still knows her mom's pinakbet is better than hers.

“She puts something in there that she don't tell any of us,” she says with a laugh.

The next time you're at La Seine, say hello to one of Guam's brightest young chefs.

ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM THE GUAM DAILY POST: https://www.postguam.com/entertainment/food/jasmine-nadres-lotte-s-golden-child/article_ae0c7f0c-b944-11e7-9995-4f87866947dd.html

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