Culinary Arts & Hot Kitchen Competition Seminar: Georgetown
Join the Penang Chefs Association for a Culinary Arts & Hot Kitchen Competition Seminar in Georgetown on 20th October 2026.
If you wish to attend this seminar, please contact Audee Cheah.
Competition Seminar instructors share techniques from both the perspective of Worldchefs Certified Judges and award-winning competitors. Participants gain an understanding of judging criteria, best practices in the competition kitchen and tactics to achieve higher scores.
Current judges: All Worldchefs Certified Judges are required to attend a Competition Seminar every five years.
Future judges: Attending a Competition Seminar is a mandatory part of the process to become a Worldchefs Certified Judge. Participants are awarded a certificate of participation that can be submitted as one of the required credentials in an application.
Judges: Why attend?
- Keep up to date with culinary trends, and discover all the latest rules necessary to provide fair judgment during competition events.
- Engage with renowned chef instructors and network with a diverse and driven class of competition chefs, aspiring judges, and influencers in the culinary space.
- Current judges: All Worldchefs Certified Judges are required to attend a Competition Seminar every five years.
- Future judges: Take the first step towards becoming a Worldchefs Certified Judge. Participants receive a certificate of participation after attending a Competition Seminar. This certificate of completion is one of the mandatory requirements when submitting a Worldchefs Certified Judge application.
Competitors: Why attend?
- Learn indispensable tips to excel in culinary competitions, and understand the service process and presentation details to make sure you know everything from the very beginning to the end.
- Be the first to discover current culinary trends, innovations in modern kitchen equipment, and the latest technologies used in competition.
- Engage with renowned chef instructors and get inspired alongside a diverse and driven class of competition chefs, aspiring judges, and influencers in the culinary space.
Learn more about becoming a Worldchefs Certified Judge
Attending a Competition Seminar is one of the required credentials in a Certified Judge application. Keep in mind, all Certified Judges are required to attend a Competition Seminar every five years. These intensive workshops provide key information about current trends, competition rules and judging criteria, to help chefs keep up-to-date and at their best!
Attending applicable Competition Seminars is one part of the process to become a judge, and does not automatically qualify you as a Certified Judge. Applicants must fulfill additional criteria and provide evidence of support in a formal application process. To learn more about the full approval process, visit: https://worldchefs.org/become-certified-judge/
Meet Your Seminar Instructor:
This seminar is taught by: Rick Stephen
Rick Stephen is a 3rd generation chef and hails from the food capital of Australia – Tasmania. He is the first Australian to be awarded the title of ‘Certified Master Chef’. Rick began his apprenticeship in 1972 under the world-renowned chef Claudio Magris in Melbourne.
He owned and ran Raphael’s restaurant in Brisbane for 12 years, achieving 3 Chefs Hats, the highest restaurant rating in Australia. In 2009, Rick joined SATS Ltd in Singapore as Executive Chef, managing up to 60,000 meals per day for Singapore Airlines. He was promoted to Director of Kitchens in 2013, overseeing all SATS kitchens in Asia, producing a total of 400,000 meals per day.
Rick also served as the Continental Director for Worldchefs in Asia, and still frequently travels to conduct training sessions and motivational presentations across the region. He has been honored in several countries, and a wing of the NingBo Culinary School in China is named after him. In 2019, China awarded Rick with the Camarilla Award in Ningbo, one of only 8 foreigners to receive this award.
During the Queen’s Birthday celebration in June 2020, Rick was honoured to receive the Order of Australia for his services to the hospitality industry.
Today, Rick is Vice President of Worldchefs, as well as the Chairman of Worldchefs’ Culinary Competition Committee and he runs the Global Chefs Challenge, the largest individual competition in the world.
Rick’s philosophy has always been about sharing information, supporting the white coat that he proudly wears every day, and promoting the young chefs who are the future of our profession.
