May 12th to 15th 2008 will see another first for the UAE. The World Association of Chefs Societies will hold its 33rd biennial world congress at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Hosted by the Emirates Culinary Guild, the event will showcase the UAE as a centre of culinary prestige and excellence.

The guild is the UAE’s chefs association, a non-profit organisation established in 1991. Among its primary goals are the promotion to the world of the interests of UAE culinary professionals and the promotion – through cuisine – of the country’s rich heritage and culture.

The guild has created two major annual culinary events: The Emirates Salon Culinaire and The Middle East Junior Chef of the Year competitions. The mission behind these competitions runs parallel with the guild’s endeavours to encourage and develop junior chefs through education and competition and help equip them with the skills necessary for holding more senior positions.

Membership of the guild is open to all those professionally involved in culinary production. Senior Membership is open to higher-ranking chefs, and junior membership is available to internees and lower-ranking chefs. Corporate membership is open to those companies that wish to be affiliated with the guild and who share the interests espoused by the guild.

Chef Uwe Micheel, president of the guild, remarks that: although the guild’s leadership is vested on an executive committee; the whole membership works as a team. He confirms that the important thing that makes the organisation strong is teamwork. Members at work at their different properties are in competition with each other, fighting to obtain and keep their customers; but when they sit together, remove their chef’s hat and instead don their guild hat, they are as one – giving their time and expertise towards achieving the guild’s objectives.

It is a matter of pride for Chef Uwe that the pride of the guild is in what the members do actually accomplish, not in what they just talk about.

The guild, in its 15 years of existence has pursued its mission with determination and the fruits of its labours are now becoming evident. Asked what he thinks is the guild’s biggest contribution to uplifting the culinary profession in the UAE, Chef Uwe says it is bringing the country onto the world culinary stage, particularly through the Emirates Salon Culinaire competition. “The biggest, I would say, would be the Emirates Salon Culinaire, which was originally held every two years. Now it’s held every year. This is because of the boom in Dubai. There’s the Gulf Food, the biggest food exhibition in the area and now, the Emirates Salon Culinaire has become the biggest competition in the region.”

And the list goes on. The guild has been largely responsible or actively involved in international events that have brought recognition to the UAE in the culinary world. Chef Uwe recalls that when, as Group Executive Chef for InterContinental hotels in the gulf, he travelled extensively to New York, Hong Kong and Singapore to look at their restaurants and see their concepts. “Now, the people in Hong Kong are coming here to Dubai to see what we are doing. I think this is the biggest success that we achieved – all the hotels and restaurants. The guild has been a big part of this.”

A major point on the agenda of the guild is the promotion of Emirati cuisine. “In the last few years, we have been trying to bring back Emirati cuisine, which was almost lost.” Towards this end, the guild has held competitions solely focusing on Emirati cuisine as well as including this category in various competitions.

Over the past years, the guild has been in the forefront of several world-record breaking events in the UAE such as the world’s biggest cake, the world’s biggest bowl of spaghetti & meatballs and the world’s biggest number of rice dumplings.

The annual Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) Black Box Culinary Challenge competition is another event in which the guild is involved. This impressive competition culminates in a 500 seat gala dinner for the lucky invited guests.

Chef Uwe adds that the guild partners with the government, particularly the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in events such as the Food Surprises Week during the Dubai Summer Surprises. Under the guild’s auspices, culinary teams from the UAE have also been sent to international competitions and these teams have brought pride to the country. “In the last two years, we sent a team to Singapore and both times, they came back victorious. This year too our teams took part in the team competition, and then they took part in six or seven individual competitions and they came back with seven gold medals and two silver medals. Wherever we go out, so far, we have won major prizes.”

But the biggest challenge for the guild is yet to come and as early as now, preparations are ongoing. Hosting the WACS 2008 World Congress is a dream come true for the guild. Chef Uwe shares that just before the beginning of his tenure as the guild’s president it became a member WACS 2008 . “When the guys came back – those who went to Norway to get the membership in the World Congress – when they came back, I asked them “When are we holding the World Congress?” (In 2008, we’re having it.) At that time, we said to ourselves, by 2010, we want to have the congress in Dubai. Now we’re having it in 2008. It really motivates me to keep going when you see the success, when you see the young guys winning the competition – these things keep you going.”

Chef Uwe has steered the guild for eight years now, helping to bring it to where it is today. “I’m only the second president since the guild started. When your colleagues trust you and put it into your hands to lead them, to lead the association, it makes you proud.” As for his legacy to the guild, “I think that as a guild, the chefs have become closer together. We help each other. We know each other well and we support each other. The team spirit between the chefs is much more, I think, than in any other profession.”