Chefs Association of Ghana pays courtesy call on Minister for Tourism

The Chefs Association of Ghana paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Honorable Lawyer Barbara Oteng-Gyasi. The purpose of the visit was to congratulate the Honorable Minister on her appointment and to present their awards won as well as request for support to liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase our local cuisine and equally invite various embassies and diplomatic missions in the country to embrace this initiative.

The first trophy presented was the WAFFEST Best main dish and the second being the Overall Best Cuisine in West Africa. The trophies were earned by the Ghanaian Chefs on their participation at the West Africa Food Festival (WAFFEST), an occasion that is aimed at highlighting the practical ways and innovation of local cuisine to be able to meet international standards as well as to be a staple menu offering in restaurants locally and internationally.

WAFFEST aims at strategically projecting local cuisine and ingredients and in the same vein project other sectors within the tourism value chain. More importantly WAFFEST brings nations and communities together to boost food tourism. Moreover, long lost recipes, native to tribes and tongues would experience revival as domestic tourism is projected and promoted. Countries that competed in the WAFFEST included Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Togo and Nigeria.

The other trophies presented were Gold in "Chefs in Green Cooking" competition, Silver in Mystery Basket Cooking and Third place in the Students in Skills Challenge earned by student chefs in training at the Hospitality All African People’s Imbizo Festival (HAAPI) held in South Africa recently. These competitions brought out spectacular display of cooking skills and plating techniques from participating countries.

The HAAPI event witnessed 16 countries participating in various activities and competitions aimed at strengthening and promoting African Chefs cuisines across the continent. The event was characterised by workshops and mentoring sessions held at the Johannesburg Stadium in South Africa. Chefs across the continent were advised to be innovative and business minded.

The Hon. Minister also congratulated the Chefs Association of Ghana and urged them to add more innovation to our local dishes to meet international acceptable standards and ensure quality service delivery.

The Association expressed some concern about the need for a professional culinary training institute for up and coming chefs as well as already established chefs in Ghana and they also raised concerns in the area of revamping and revitalizing the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT) in the country as a way of promoting and strengthening domestic tourism by way of reviving lost recipes of various native tribes across Ghana and Africa as a whole. The Association also requested support from the Minister to liaise effectively and efficiently with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for endorsement and to organise Food Festival to showcase our local cuisine especially the Ghana Jollof to invite Foreign Embassies to be part of the festival.

The delegates from the Chefs Association of Ghana were well received at the office of the Hon. Minister. She then urged them to promote the Eat Ghana Campaign, which is part of the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana marketing campaign targeted at promoting domestic tourism amongst Ghanaians. She also encouraged them to partake in the Memphis in May Festival International next year especially in the barbecue competition as Ghana is an honorary of the upcoming festival.

The Chefs Association of Ghana is a non-profit association aimed at uniting chefs and cooks across Ghana in a shared dedication to professional culinary excellence. They have been in existence since 2005 and have represented Ghana’s true definition of a professional chef or cook.