Burj Al Arab wins Gold at MLA Middle East Junior Culinary Challenge

The JW Marriott Dubai recently played host to a culinary extravaganza, as over 350 guests were wowed by the creativity and excellence of Dubai's best kitchens and table planners.

A panel of professional judges from the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) awarded the chefs for their culinary accomplishments. The JW Marriott Dubai kitchen received the Bronze accolade; Fairmont, The One&Only Royal Mirage and the Crowne Plaza all achieved Silver; while the Burj Al Arab took Gold and will go on to represent the Middle East at the international finals in Ireland next year.

The eleven teams competing in this year's MLA Middle East Culinary Challenge presented a wide and varied array of mouth-watering dishes from the list of ingredients presented to them the day before. These included lamb, potatoes, capsicums, fish, and giant clams, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, cream, and chocolate among others.

From the moment the doors opened, guests were in for a feast of the senses. The stars of the evening, the eleven teams of junior chefs competing in the MLA Middle East Junior Culinary Challenge, made a dramatic entrance, coming up through the floor of the Amal Grand Ballroom on a hydraulic stage.

However, this was just a taste of what was to come. The Amal Grand Ballroom at the JW Marriott Dubai proved the perfect showcase for the talents of the city's table setting teams. The JW Marriott Dubai table dressing team scooped an award for merit for their table based on sea, fire and salt. The hotel opted for a subtle Sea, Salt, Fire theme for its table, the centrepiece of the JW Marriott coming complete with a bowl of goldfish.

"It is extremely important to have competitions like this in Dubai and the neighbouring countries. It takes the chef out of his routine and challenges him to rethink his way of cooking and organising his work. It gives him time to play with textures, colours and experiment. In countries where there is no apprenticeship programmes or Cooking schools the competitions take the place of a graduation test and provide the challenge that is needed to drive to better performance," said Chef Ingo Maass, Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Dubai, and board member of the Emirates Culinary Guild.

"Over the years I have entered many young chefs in competitions like this and the chefs that have participated have all continued their careers better than those who did not participate," he added.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), the Australian marketing and promotional arm of Australian meat producers, sponsored the event.