KOTA KINABALU: The inaugural Borneo Hospitality Challenge (BHC) 2020 will be held at the Sabah International Convention Centre on May 30-31.
This competition aims to make the Borneo Island as one of the world-class culinary venue as invitation has been sent out to international participants and at the same time, international judges will also be invited to do the judging process.
“We want to divert the international level hospitality challenge to the Borneo Island as all this while most of the prestigious events in Malaysia are held in the peninsula,” organising chairman Dion Jee said (pic)
According to him, the annual competition will begin in Sabah this year, and next year, it will be Sarawak turn and thereafter Kalimantan.
“These three territories will take turn to host the event on a rotation basis as we will be inviting international chefs to judge the event,” he explained.
Through the competition, they want to offer an enriching experience for all, to create and showcase as well as strengthen their common faith and commitment through sharing talents, he said.
There are 20 categories to be competed and there are for cold display, patisserie, artistic and hot cooking, food and beverage skill for individual as well as team challenge for professional and junior (students aged 16-25).
The top three winners of each category will respectively receive prize money of USD1,000; USD500 and USD200 as well as medals and certificates issued by the International Food and Beverage Association (IFBA).
The entry fees are RM150, RM200 and 500 depending on the categories (individual or team).
The competition is open to any individuals including homemakers so long they adhere to the rules and regulations of the competition, he said, adding that the event will start from 7am to 9pm.
To date, about 250 competitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Thailand has confirmed coming. There will be exhibition booths for the suppliers to promote their products.
“Initially we have about 500 competitors representing 15 countries but now reduced to five due to the Covid-19 outbreak. We will be inviting 40 foreign and seven local judges to do the judging process,” Dion said.
The two-day competition is organised by the Borneo Culinary Association Sabah and Sarawak and endorsed by the Malaysian Food and Beverage Executive Association, and IFBA. It is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment. -HS
