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The EHTL, the Ecole Hôtellerie et de Tourisme Luxembourg, recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. Among the well-wishers was the Worldchefs Association President, Andy Cuthbert. The Worldchefs President, a native Australian who has been living and working in Dubai for 20 years, was elected to this position in October 2024. Christian Schmit interviewed him on the sidelines of the academic session.
From washing dishes at his cousin’s restaurant in Melbourne to becoming the General Manager at one of the most renowned hotel resorts in the United Arab Emirates, and now President of Worldchefs. Where do the challenges for the future of gastronomy lie? How do we feed the world’s population? The keyword is “My plate my planet”.
“So for us as chefs it is important that we are able to know and be aware of where our products, food, actually come from. How can we best process these and when should that product be processed. A good friend of mine in the United Arab Emirates, originally from Syria, told me that maybe we should think again about working with food from our own country, instead of always importing everything. Using ingredients, valuing them and trying to bring in those that come from one’s own country and culture, and then refining such recipes in our kitchen.”
It is also important to make the difference between what is truly sustainable: is it just green washing? is it just for the sake of having a lot of followers on social media? Worldchefs also sees the responsibility of ensuring that less food is thrown away.
“When you see how much food is thrown away every day around the world, it’s huge. And when you see that farmers destroy their crops for whatever reason… That shouldn’t be, we have to work on that. And we as the Worldchefs Association have to pass that message on to our members, but also through education in schools. Our Worldchefs Group ‘Feed the Planet’ must communicate this message to the younger generations so that they become more aware of this problem.”
Yes, Andy Cuthbert is particularly fond of the next generation. They are excited about the “Power of the White Jacket.”
“The young must be convinced and supported to work and stay in their job, with passion. Not just for 10 years but for their entire lives, just as we have dedicated our lives to the gastronomy industry. But in the development of young chefs, we must listen to what they want, and understand their dreams. We must tell them the dreams of hospitality and gastronomy that we have experienced, just as we have experienced our own.”
The Worldchefs Association was founded in 1928 by August Escoffier at the Sorbonne in Paris. The association is already planning for its centenary, with 100 member countries and more to come. Worldchefs wants to continue to be the recognized voice for chefs around the globe, but also the advocacy partner for the food industry, and even work with larger organizations such as the United Nations and the WHO, the World Health Organization.
And then we come to talk about EXPOGAST and the Culinary World Cup 2026 with Andy Cuthbert as Worldchefs President.
“Oh yes, this is going to be a big moment again. The quality of the EXPOGAST with the teams that are coming, the whole organization, the support of the students from the hotel school in service. EXPOGAST, for me, is a competition that no one should miss, now as president of Worldchefs even more so, and I will be there.”
