International chefs take back worldwide culinary treasure

Divya Sharma

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 14

The first edition of the World Heritage Cuisine Summit and Food Festival 2018 being held at Qila Gobindgarh concluded on Sunday. Around 40 countries took part in the event organised by the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) for promotion of food custom. The event had master classes, live cooking session and panel discussions. Chefs from across the world said they would cherish the memories and the love they received here in the city. “Besides showcasing the hallmark cuisines of our nations here in Amritsar, we are taking along the culinary treasure of other countries,” said a group of chefs while sharing their experience.

The last day saw Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), visiting the summit in the morning. He witnessed live demos and interacted with chefs, culinary professionals and volunteers. “We are honoured to be associated with this event. Student volunteers from our hospitality department got an opportunity to interact with some of the best chefs in the world,” he said.

Representatives from Turkey, Armenia, Cambodia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, US, Ukraine, UAE, Vietnam and Wales participated in the food summit. On the last day, chef Manjit Singh Gill and renowned culinary expert Thomas Gugler had a live cooking session in which they created dishes made from leftover ingredients.

In the three-day event, food bloggers, professionals, students and chefs visited various counters, learning from live kitchens, besides, interacting with people from different places.

The closing ceremony was presided over by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha. He said, “The World Heritage Cuisine Summit has been a wonderful event. Amritsar has benefited from the presence of international chefs from over 40 countries as they will carry back local expertise.”

Addressing the audience during the closing ceremony, chef Manjit Singh Gill said, “I am very happy that we brought the world heritage cuisine summit here. I am sure people attending here in different capacities must have learnt a lot.”