PARIS November 12, 2020
Many of us have had an uncertain year. Globally, we were all on the same page. COVID 19 had an impact on every one of us. Despite the circumstances, many Chefs tried to share a moment with children around the world this year on and around October 20th to celebrate International Chefs Day 2020.
Many of us were on lock down for months and many never stopped working since this pandemic started. I am sure it gave us all a sense of normalcy to give back to our communities. Seeing the emails pour in from all of you, truly made my heart melt. You made me feel grateful for your participation in this year’s campaign and made me proud to be part of Worldchefs. We did not know what to expect this year, but as Chefs know how to do daily, we adapt to any situation given to us at a moment’s notice.
Our sponsor, Nestle Professional, not only provided and developed the theme “Healthy Food for the Future,” but also stepped in at the end of the summer to make adaptations to the International Chefs Day Online Toolkit. This adaptation allowed Chefs to download a Virtual Toolkit ready for your online platform event. Thank you Nestle Professional for being such a huge support and fan of this campaign!
Chef Emmanuel Lorieux, Nestle Professional Global Executive Chef, shared his kind words, “I wanted to just say thank you to those who participated and organized real and virtual events and managed to reach so many kids for this truly special International Chefs Day event, even if it has been a very challenging year so far for all of us! At Nestlé Professional, we are proud of all of you and we will keep on supporting Chefs from all around the globe for the years to come by supporting and developing great and useful material for International Chefs Day and the Worldchefs association.”
Worldchefs President Thomas A. Gugler also expressed his thanks to all the participants, the team in front and behind the activities, the International Chefs Day Committee and Chairman Vanessa Marquis for their hard work and dedication. Reminding everyone “Always believe on the Power of the White Jacket and think positive. May you all stay safe and healthy and a big THANK YOU to all of you!”
Chef Dr. Bill Gallagher, founder of International Chefs Day in 2004, would be so proud of all of you! Although we are having a tough year globally, you continued his vision of celebrating our noble profession and passing on our knowledge and culinary skills to the next generation with a sense of pride and commitment to the future.
I am also very proud of the International Chefs Day Committee who volunteered their time this year to get the word out and answer any questions you had about the 2020 campaign. Everyone played a big role in making this a great year. Thank you to the Team, Chef Cornelia Volino, Worldchefs Secretary General, and the Worldchefs Office for all their support and dedication to this amazing global initiative.
And now what you have all been waiting for…
Just look at our final counts for 2020!
|
Children Reached |
Chef Participation |
|
112,055 |
682 |
Congratulations!!!
Creativity and Social Media played a huge part in this campaign with just over 25,000 reached by your demonstrations, Zoom meetings, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. If you missed sharing with children this October, you can participate in 2021 by joining even more Chefs around the world for next year’s International Chefs Day campaign.
I leave you with this final thought, by Chef Dr. Bill Gallagher:
“Progress is incremental so concentrate on what you can do today that you couldn’t do yesterday.”
Source: Food & Home/Michael Meyersfeld
Now look at just some of the many International Chefs Day 2020 Events from around the world:
