GORILLA HIGHLANDS’ MIHA LOGAR CONFIRMS ‘SILVERCHEF COMPETITION’
(Posted 27th September 2015)
Uganda’s famous ‘Silverbacks’, the dominant male gorillas in the forests of Bwindi and Mt. Mgahinga, no doubt inspired the creators of the upcoming ‘Silverchef Competition’ when chosing the name for the event, which later this year will pit South Western Uganda’s most accomplished chefs against each other as they seek to claim the pinnacle of their careers.
Miha Logar, known for his love of this part of Uganda which he made his adopted home over the past decade, overnight shared the outline of what the first ever such cooking competition in one of Uganda’s major tourism hubs will entail to have as many aspirants apply to be part of the event as possible.
Set for the border town of Kisoro where the famous Travellers Rest hotel is hosting the event, will the main focus be to draw fresh attention to this region’s key tourism attractions. Besides access to the two Ugandan gorilla national parks of Bwindi and Mt. Mgahinga is the area rich of cultural attractions too and awaits to be discovered by tourists coming to hike and bike across one of Uganda’s most scenic terrains. Lakes like Mutanda with several top lodges now along the shores or overlooking the lake from view points above, make for spectacular backdrops when taking pictures, inevitably hearing repeated ‘awesome’ shouts from the wagenis who made their way that far into Africa.
The cooking competition however will also highlight the changes Uganda’s hospitality industry has undergone in recent years with investments in new lodges, state of the art kitchens and the training of staff, especially cooks, to lift food standards to the top of the regional offerings.
Wrote Miha in his mail:
SILVERCHEF 2015
Gorilla Highlands is inviting the lodges and hotels in the districts of Kabale, Kanungu and Kisoro to the first ever cooking competition, Silverchef 2015.
Hosted by Travellers Rest in Kisoro on 21 November 2015, Silverchef will be an opportunity to celebrate the culinary excellence in the Gorilla Highlands region, foster cooperation and cameraderie and promote our region nationally, across the East African Community and internationally.
Due to space limitations only 10 chefs will be able to compete, each preparing one meal for five people, using set ingredients and cooking with gas and/or charcoal.
Please submit your candidate through the form below by 15th of October 2015. A week later our jury led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome will announce the chosen competitors and send them the list of ingredients.
These ingredients are not to be purchased, they are for planning purposes only. Instead the lodges where the chefs work will need to pay a participation fee of UShs 70,000/- . This fee will allow Travellers Rest to buy all that is needed to provide the contestants with the ingredients they will need to prepare a meal of their choice.
The lodges where the chefs work are also expected to finance the competitors’ transport while accommodation will be catered for them in Kisoro.
The competitors will have to arrive to Kisoro on 20th of November and leave on 22nd of November.
The winner will receive a silver hat and the best five chefs will get a certificate.
Let the tastiest and most creative meal set the judges taste buds alight and make its creator famous!
Applicants – the competition will be widely advertised across Uganda’s South West – will need to provide the following information to myself via wthome@gmail.com or wt@etn.travel to be included in the pre-selection of finalists. The application form is available via www.gorillahighlands.com/silverchef-2015/
APPLICATION:
Lodge / hotel name:
Lodge / hotel location:
Lodge / hotel contact:
Name of proposed competitor:
Age of proposed competitor:
Proposed competitor’s year of joining the lodge / hotel:
Proposed competitor’s previous experience as chef:
Proposed competitor’s contact phone number:
Proposed competitor’s email contact:
Notably was the UNWTO’s World Tourism Day which is annually celebrated on the 27th of September, to make the announcement and demonstrate that Uganda has in recent years come into its own as far as tourism offerings are concerned, holding the byname of ‘Pearl of Africa’ for a very good reason.
Watch this space for upcoming additional announcements and information building up to the competition weekend.
Meanwhile though check out www.gorillahighlands.com and www.edirisa.org to learn more about the South West of Uganda and what visitors can expect to see and experience.
