Seychelles annual culinary competition wins the heart of promising chefs

In keeping with the saying “the quickest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach,” the Seychelles annual Culinary Competition is undoubtedly more than an affair of the heart and stomach, but it has proven to be a fine time for young talented chefs with heart and passion to come forward and be discovered.

Now in its fifth edition, ISPC Seychelles, the contest’s biggest sponsor, has confirmed that they will stay on board, and they have also blown the whistle for the launching of the sixth edition of this national competition. Alfred Furcroy, Chief Executive Officer of ISPC Seychelles, said this year’s contestants will battle for a comfortable position in the preliminary and finals at the Seychelles New Tourism Academy building. Mr. Furcroy was speaking at a presentation of a check worth R150,000 collected at the competition’s Gala Dinner organized in March at the Kempinski Resort.

The Gala Dinner is organized annually as part of the National Culinary Competition, and it allows the grand winners of the competition to present their signature dishes for all to see. For the past years, the money collected with the selling of tickets for the night has been donated to the Seychelles Tourism Academy. In the previous edition, R115,266 was collected and donated to Seychelles Tourism Academy to finance its documentation center. This donation of R150,000 will still go to Seychelles Tourism Academy to pay a consultant to review its strategic plan 2010-2015 and to draft a new document for 2014-2015.

Flavien Joubert, Principal of Seychelles Tourism Academy, said the money will also be used for the institution’s charitable donations. Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, saw through this donation a perfect example where private-public partnerships are at work.

“The National Culinary Competition is designed for the young people of Seychelles to show their talents and in so doing to be discovered. Most importantly, it opens the doors for young Seychellois to make a career in this industry. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture appreciates this public-private sector partnership created through this event, and we strongly believe that it is the key to our continued success,” Minister St.Ange said.

The 6th Edition of Seychelles Culinary Competition will be held in October 2014.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .