Marriott International APAC’s Culinary
Workshop by Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
When
40 International and local chefs get together, there’s nothing short but a big
bang of culinary escapades hosted by Le Meridien
Kuala Lumpur. A yearly event, Marriott
International sets out to host The
League of Kitchens on all their hotel locations all over the world. Gathering
their culinary teams from all Marriott properties, these chefs are set for
3-day workshop focusing on trends and culinary innovations in the F&B industry.
The
5th edition of the annual Marriott
International’s APAC Culinary workshop was held recently in June 2019 at Le
Meridien with 40 chefs from Marriott properties in Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, The Philippines and The Maldives together with 12 top culinary
students from Taylor’s University School of Culinary Arts & Food Studies,
Sunway’s Le Cordon Bleu Institute Malaysia, and KDU University College.
Lead by Toine Hoeksel, Senior Culinary Director of APAC, the 3-day workshop took everyone through a high-level and immersive experiential training, networking, learning new trends of the trade, ‘Black Box’ challenge and ended with a fun and insightful outdoor cooking session for charity.
Lead by Toine Hoeksel, Senior Culinary Director of APAC, the 3-day workshop took everyone through a high-level and immersive experiential training, networking, learning new trends of the trade, ‘Black Box’ challenge and ended with a fun and insightful outdoor cooking session for charity.
The
finale of the Marriott International’s APAC Culinary workshop was held at
Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) where everyone takes on an outdoor
challenge of cooking up a storm for 100 stateless children from Sekolah Bimbingan
Jalinan Kasih, a stateless children school by Ministry of Education. Part of
Marriott International’s ‘Spirit to Serve’ CSR initiative, Chef Hoeksel together
with Le Meridien KL Executive Chef Antoine Rodriguez along with Regional Culinary
Director of APEC, Marriott International Raheel Ahmed and Area Director of Operations
Nicolas Kassab together with the culinary team were all on-site in making the
event a fruitful and fun event for the children.
Despite
an early morning shower, the team work hard to setup all the cooking stations
in preparation for the big cookout. With 6 teams set together with culinary
students, members of the media and bloggers, the morning took flight as the
weather cleared up to a bright and sunny day. The menu of the day consisted of Chicken
and Beef Satay, Ulam Kerabu, Butter Chicken with Vegetable Dalcha and Rice, Grilled
Fish and Squid with Tamarind Sauce, Wok-Fried Vegetables, Stir-Fried Egg Noodles,
Assorted Malay Kuih, Roti Jala, Banana Porridge and Durian Porridge.
A
quick speech by Chef Hoeksel boosted the spirit of the team and the atmosphere
of the day of certainly vibrating with much energy, joy and laughter from everyone.
Chef
Hoeksel has been with Marriott International for 7 years and has been leading
the APAC Culinary workshop since the beginning. The APAC Culinary workshop host
13 workshops through a year internationally with the purpose to bring Marriott
chefs together and how to continuously improve the food quality of the international
hotel group.
‘Marriott International continues to
grow with 850 hotels in the pipeline over 5-year timeline. Therefore, it is crucial
that everyone grows with the group. The goal is to focus on food quality, building
reputation, storytelling, driving revenue, food authenticity with locally
source as well as sustainable ingredients. Besides this, Marriott International
hopes to work with local schools to bring in new talents through their apprenticeship
program and allow them to grow globally with the group’, says Chef Hoeksel.
The
day concluded with much success and laughter as everyone made sure the children
were well-fed with the delicious menu along with singing activities and even a dance
performance by Chef Hoeksel and all his team.
The
12 top culinary students from the local culinary schools were also presented
with certificate of recognition from Marriott International. The certification
is said to serve as a strong entry point for the young graduates to seek employment
opportunities with any Marriott property internationally.
More
tokens of appreciation were also presented to the culinary team from Sekolah Bimbingan
Jalinan Kasih management team.
Perhaps
the most priceless moment of the day was the group photo of the smiles on the
children with the team that day…
