Nestlé Professional Singapore Celebrates 20th anniversary of International Chefs Day with Global Chefs Community

By Nestlé Professional Singapore

Organised in collaboration with Singapore Chefs’ Association, this internationally celebrated event also takes place on the first day of Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2024

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 21 October 2024 - Nestlé Professional Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Chefs' Association, celebrated the 20^th anniversary of International Chefs Day at the Nestlé Professional Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) on 19 October with a local and global community of chefs.

Nestlé Professional Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Chefs’ Association, celebrated the 20th anniversary of International Chefs Day at the Nestlé Professional Customer Engagement Centre (CEC).

International Chefs Day is a global initiative between Nestlé Professional and Worldchefs (World Association of Chefs Societies). This year marks the 20^th anniversary of International Chefs Day, and the 10^th consecutive year of partnership by educating and supporting children globally by promoting a passion for cooking through hands-on workshops and educational resources.

This year's International Chefs' Day 2024 celebration in Singapore also marks the first day of the bi-annual international culinary conference, Worldchefs Congress & Expo, held in Singapore .

Special guests such as Thomas Gugler (President of Worldchefs) and Vanessa Marquis (Chairperson of the Worldchefs International Chefs Day Committee) also graced the occasion.

Paul Nagelkerken, Country Business Manager at Nestlé Professional Singapore shares, "We are excited to welcome the world of chefs to join us in our International Chefs Day celebration in Singapore. Together with the Singapore Chefs' Association, we are committed to excite the next generation of potential chefs. We believe that empowering children with the knowledge and skills when making food choices will lead to healthier lifestyles and hopefully trigger them to join the wonderful global family of chefs."

'Growing Great Chefs' aligns with our mission to inspire and nurture the next generation of chefs," says Emmanuel Lorieux, Nestlé Professional Global Executive Chef and Global Culinary Partnership Manager. "By engaging youngsters in this hands-on learning experience, we hope to ignite their passion for cooking and foster healthy lifelong habits."

"Growing Great Chefs"

This year's theme, 'Growing Great Chefs,' welcomes young enthusiasts into the wonderful world of cooking, teaching them not only how to prepare delicious dishes but also how to make informed food choices.

President of Singapore Chefs' Association, Eric Neo, says in his opening speech, "International Chefs Day is a day which is very close to our hearts, as it reminds us of the responsibility and power chefs have in influencing the next generation. We also greatly value the support Nestlé Professional Singapore has given us over the years to make this possible."

Based on the theme, Nestlé Professional Singapore and Singapore Chefs' Association put together a programme that emphasized on sustainability and the importance of using healthy ingredients.

After the welcome addresses by Chef Eric Neo, invited guests were given an introduction to indoor farming by Grobrix, a partner of Nestlé Professional Singapore.

The Nestlé Professional Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) was also transformed into a food preparation activity area for 20 children, aged from 8- 10 years old.

Using the comprehensive toolkit provided by Nestlé Professional, chefs from Singapore Chefs' Association demonstrated how to best prepare healthy, colourful dishes such as sandwich, salads and pancakes in a delicious and healthy way. The children were then guided through the exercise step by step by the chefs.

For many of the attendees, it was the first time they interacted with a chef. One of the participants enthusiastically shares, "This is the first time I have cooked with a chef. I have learnt many things and I am inspired to be a chef in the future!"

"This has been a monumental celebration," says Vanessa Marquis, Chairperson of the Worldchefs International Chefs Day Committee. "Firstly, this marks the 20^th anniversary of International Chefs' Day. We are pleased to celebrate this on the first day of the Worldchefs Congress 2024 and to hold this at the Nestlé Professional Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) in Singapore. We're proud to work with Nestlé Professional to inspire children worldwide to make lifelong habits and positive changes in their lives."
Hashtag: #InternationalChefsDay #NestleProfessional #InternationalChefsDay2024 #GrowingGreatChefs #singaporechefs #NestleProfessionalSG

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About International Chefs Day

International Chefs Day offers chefs a unique opportunity to connect closely with children, teaching them about the delights of cooking and all about our hero ingredients. This celebration is more than just a day; it's a chance to make a lasting impact on the lives of young people, encouraging them to explore the culinary arts and learning about different food groups.

Nestlé Professional also provides a comprehensive toolkit that includes posters, recipe cards, workshop tips, games and educational resources. Among these is a 'balanced plate' guide, designed to inspire young chefs to create well-balanced meals using a variety of food groups. Events across the globe will include cooking workshops, education sessions, food safety awareness, farm visits, food art and cultural culinary journeys. In 2023, International Chefs Day reached new heights with 456 events across the globe, involving about 3,700 chefs and over 140,000 children. This year, we are excited to build on this success, engaging even more young minds in culinary workshops that emphasize the joys of cooking and the importance of a balanced diet. 2024 also marks the 20^th anniversary of the creation of International Chefs Day celebrations.

This initiative is part of the broader Nestlé for Healthier Kids program (N4HK), which promotes balanced diets and healthy lifestyle habits for children aged 3–12 and supports parents and caregivers to raise healthier kids.

By collaborating with Worldchefs on International Chefs Day, we are taking another step towards achieving this ambitious goal, ensuring that children worldwide have the tools and knowledge they need to make informed food choices.