WACS Congress 2006 – Day 2

Vala Albert and Bjarki Hilmarssonman

The 32nd World Association of Cooks’ Societies (WACS) Congress kicked off to a grand start, with the first highlight being the Parade of Nations. This year, WACS welcomed five new member countries: Serbia and Montenegro, Estonia, Republic of Belarus, Lithuania and Turkey. Two were present to receive the coveted diplomas and voting paddles— the Belarus Culinary Association and the Association of Estonian Chefs.

WACS President, Ferdinand Metz then delivered his State of the Association report. He also reiterated WACS’ focus on food and cuisine, guided by the C-H-E-F-S vision (Cuisine, Hospitality, Education, Food and Service to others). He also detailed WACS’ current priorities and strategies including, introducing educational programmes, creating WACS Master Chefs’ certification and ensuring the success of the inaugural Global Chefs’ Challenge. All these efforts need funding and Metz said that for sponsorships to work, “We need to support those that support us.”

The Mayor of Auckland, Dick Hubbard then highlighted the importance of professionalism with a short anecdote. The story told of a knight travelling through Medieval England. Along the way, he met three men who were all cutting stone. The first man was an unhappy labourer working only for the wages, weighed down by the drudgery of his work. Then he met a happy tradesman who took pride in cutting his stones but wasn’t sure where they were headed. The last man he met immediately declared: “I’m building a cathedral.” The moral of the story, said His Worship, was: “If we see ourselves making a difference in people’s lives, our whole attitude changes.”

Before the business agenda began, the motion to pass the WACS By-laws was then put up for vote. The result was a resounding ‘yes’, with no country objecting at all. The Congress then proceeded with the new by-laws in operation.

The next order of business was the acceptance of honorary members by paddle voting. Rick Stevens (Australia), Murray Dick (New Zealand), Arthur Sauber (Luxembourg) Martti Lenthinnen (Finland) and Frank Naesheim (Singapore) were added to the list.

After lunch, there was a surprise announcement— two of the four candidates vying for the Asia Continental Directorship had pulled out of the race. They were Yang Liu from China and Gerard Mendes from Sri Lanka. Read on for more comprehensive coverage of the incumbent Continental Director reports and news on who your new Board members are.

The business day was beautifully rounded off by presentations from the four cities bidding to host the Congress in early 2010. There was definitely some food for thought there, with the many pictures of local and international delicacies. The presentations immediately sparked debate as many delegates were already discussing the choices on their way out of the conference hall. All that remains is for the vote on 14 March, Wednesday to reveal the winner.

The business meetings ended at 5:30pm and at 6pm, everyone was promptly bussed off to North Harbour Stadium where the official group photo was taken. The Taste of New Zealand spread was a treat, offering succulent Green Mussels, Blue Cod fish and chips and very tasty venison and apple sauce among others. Do check out our photo gallery for pictures of the event.

See more photos here

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