From 14 to 19 February, a pioneering chef team comprised solely of people with disabilities will vie for medals at the 2020 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany – the first team of its type to ever compete at the showcase.
The brigade will do so wearing whites emblazoned with the Essential Cuisine logo; the company is lead sponsor of The Culinary Ability Awards – the not-for-profit organisation that has brought the team together to compete – with the Cheshire based stocks and sauces supplier now calling on the industry to cheer the brigade on as it cooks for coveted silverware.
Comprising participants from Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Germany the team – cooking a menu reflective of their various cultures – will be competing against able bodied participants in the ‘community kitchen’ category, preparing 120 portions of a 3-course-menu against the clock.
Culinary Ability Awards founder and chef, Chris Sandford, said, “We’re massively grateful to the guys and girls at Essential Cuisine for helping us get to this historic point.
'The Culinary Ability Awards don’t receive any public funding and we have had to bankroll the large part of this venture, save for donations from benevolent industry friends and the overwhelming support of Essential Cuisine.
'It’s massively appreciated and allows us to get down to doing what we love and what we’ve trained for – competitive cooking.”
In the past decade, Essential Cuisine has donated consistently to the Culinary Ability Awards, Senior Business Development Chef at Essential Cuisine, Jonathan Harvey-Barnes, commented, “The Culinary Ability Awards are an incredible, inspirational setup – an organisation that we’ve supported for a decade or more.
“We’re extremely proud that this team will be wearing whites adorned with the Essential Cuisine logo as they do battle for the very first time at the Culinary Olympics.
'I urge chefs, suppliers, manufacturers, operators – anyone with a vested interest in the food industry – to get behind them, cheer them on and donate as much as they can so they can keep training people with disabilities to make a difference in professional kitchens. We’re with them every step of the way.”
Companies wishing to get involved and support can donate direct to the Culinary Ability Awards at: http://www.culinaryabilityawards.com/