Food congress in May to focus on 'hand taste' of Korea

An international panel of juries inspects the creations of chefs participating at the 2010 WACS Asia Forum. / Courtesy of WACS 2012 Daejeon Congress Organizing Committee

The World Association of Chefs Societies 2012 Daejeon Congress will be held from May 1 to 12 in various venues in Daejeon, a city just under 170 kilometer southeast of Seoul.

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Under the theme "Hand Taste of Korean People! Appetite of World Citizens!" the large scale food congress will be held for 12 days in locations such as the Daejeon Convention Center, KOTREX and Expo Citizens Plaza in Daejeon.

It will be attended by more than 30,000 prominent chefs, sommeliers and cooks from over 97 countries, said a spokesman of the WACS 2012 Daejeon Congress Organizing Committee. The committee is chaired by Mayor Yum Hong-chul of Daejeon Metropolitan City.

Through the congress, Korea will publicize traditional Korean foods and beverages such as traditional rice wine, "Makgeolli".

It also marks the 35th biennial general assembly of the World Association of Chefs Societies.

As the third congress to be held in Asia following Singapore and Kyoto, the general assembly in Daejeon is expected to be the largest event in its history. It will be held under the united theme, "How to Feed the Planet in the Future", and it will adopt a Daejeon Declaration.

Along with the WACS general assembly, major programs of the congress will include the "Global Chef Challenge", one of the food contests organized by the WACS for senior chefs, and the "Hans Bueschkens Young Chef Challenge" for junior chefs aged 25 years or younger.

In the Hans Bueschkens Young Chef Challenge, the final match will be among representatives of seven countries who are selected through preliminaries. These two contests will be held on May 3-4 on the first floor of the Daejeon Convention Center, separately.

Between May 6 and 9, the Association of Sommelier International will hold its general assembly and the Second Competition of Sommeliers representing Asia and Oceania.

It will truly be the "Sommelier Olympics" with attendance of more than 500 wine specialists and sommeliers from 45 countries.

In particular, the Second Competition of Sommeliers in Asia and Oceania set to be held in Daejeon is significant as the city was selected as the venue after heated competition with Hong Kong and Singapore.

It follows the first competition held in Osaka, Japan in 2009.

At the competition, 23 representative sommeliers selected from 12 Asian and Oceania countries through fierce competition are expected to boast their talent and skills.

In addition, the 2012 International Food Fair-Korea, the first international-level food contest in Korea accredited by the WACS, will be held between May 1 and 5 at the Daejeon Convention Center. A total of 909 teams in 39 fields will vie with a large variety of foods.

At the same time, the Daejeon International Food Industry Exhibition will be held at the same venue to provide the chance to exchange knowledge on foods and cooking from different countries around the world, and introduce Korean foods through the Korean Food Pavilion.

The WACS 2012 Daejeon Congress is not a festival limited to chefs but also an arena of diversified and complex cultures that unites citizens through food. It provides the opportunity to enjoy the best foods cooked by contest participants, performances of culture and arts of many countries, including Korea, and other activities.

The congress will be hosted by the Daejeon Metropolitan City and Korea Cooks Association and organized by the WACS 2012 Daejeon Congress Organizing Committee. Admission is free.

Videos related to the congress are available on Youtube (http://youtu.be/O0vdcrVb8o8), and more detailed information on the Congress is available at (http://www.wacs2012.org/).

kslee@koreatimes.co.kr