At the recent Culinaire Malaysia 2007 a Culinary department out-created and out-cooked more than 1100 participants nationwide, to win gold for the much coveted Battle of Chefs Gold and 18 other awards. 

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) proved its mettle.  "The culinary team and I are ecstatic with the results. We sent 18 participants, and all came back winners, bringing home five Golds, two Silvers, six Bronzes and five Diplomas in the 16 categories we participated in.

And of course, there's the award of all awards; the Gold for best team in the Battle of the Chefs," said Executive Chef Richmond Lim.

The Centre's winning gourmet team, helmed by Executive Sous Chef, Chef Ronny Khor, put on a lavish feast of appetizers, salads, main courses, tapas and desserts to tantalise the judges' taste-buds and win their hearts, and votes with their food preparation, presentation and originality.

The menu par excellence included Wagyu Beef Roulade, Seafood Bouillabaisse with Squid Ink Pasta, Togarashi marinated Lobster, Oven-roasted Peking Duck Roulade, House-smoked Salmon Royale with Fresh Herbs, Foie Gras Marble Terrine and Bouche Roman cakes with Poached Baby Pear.

The Culinaire Malaysia 2007 results reinforce the gastronomic talents and capabilities of the Centre's kitchen brigade of 51.  At 3,157 sq metres, the Centre's kitchens are one of the largest commercial kitchens in Malaysia, and are kitted out with the latest in kitchen technology such as the Cook-and-Chill system, to facilitate service of up to 6,000 meals a day.

Running concurrently with Culinaire Malaysia 2007 were the Bartenders Competition and the table setting competition. The Centre's team led by Beverage Manager, Mr Ben Irwan took home four bronze medals for their unique cocktails; ‘Mystical Dream' (a mix of Frangelico and vanilla vodka), ‘Basilian Mist' (a concoction of vanilla vodka, vanilla tea and basil) and mocktails, ‘Passionate Twist' and ‘Peninsula Flip'.  The Centre's catering team also won bronze for the table setting competition.

The biennial Culinaire Malaysia serves as a national platform for professionals, apprentices and students to compete alongside their peers.

It is jointly organised by representatives of the national hospitality industry, namely Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Chefs Association of Malaysia (CAM) and Malaysian Food & Beverage Executives Association (MFBEA) in conjunction with Food & Hotel Malaysia. Both the 2007 events were held at the Centre.