IACC-Americas Names Canadian Conference Centre Chef of the Year

Murray Hall, Executive Chef at BMO Financial Group Institute for Learning in Toronto, set the record for winning IACC’s coveted culinary cook-off by winning the Canadian Copper Skillet award for the third consecutive year.

He also earned the right to represent Canada at the International Association of Conference Centres’ ninth annual Copper Skillet Cooking Competition.

The event was held at White Oaks Resort & Spa in Niagara-On-The-Lake where five other chefs from across Canada competed in the cook-off. As in the past competitions, three mystery proteins were unveiled including quail, Arctic char, and smoked whole ham hocks. Local judges observed the chefs throughout the competition and evaluated their final product based on originality of creation, technique, presentation, textures, balance of flavor combinations, and hygiene standards.

Other chefs in the competition were:

• Jean Mathieu LeClerc, Sous Chef, Sodexho at Nav Canada, Cornwall, ON

• Alan Boden, Exec Chef, Donald Gordon Conference Centre, Kingston, ON

• Wandee Jefferson, Exec Chef, Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre, London, ON

• Spencer Gadener-Durdle, Sous Chef, White Oaks Resort, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

• Santosh Kumar Sahoo, Sous Chef, Banff Centre, Banff, AB

Hall will join seven other chefs from IACC chapters in the Americas, Europe, and Australia at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa in Montgomery, TX in March to vie for the crown of the Global Conference Centre Chef of the Year.

Chef Hall’s winning entry was pan-seared Arctic char with white wine sabayon sauce on a bed of Japanese eggplant, plus pan-seared quail with sweet potato risotto and pine nut-basil-cranberry relish with zucchini flowers.

The popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference centres around the world and to honor their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference centre experience.

TASTE OF SUCCESS!

ABDUILAH ‘SCOOBY’ AZZUBAIR COOKS HIS WAY TO AMERICA!

It’s normally said “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen”, but this was an understatement as 8 finalist chefs competed for the prestigious UK IACC Copper Skillet Award, staged at Wyboston Lakes Conference Centre. Not only were they judged by two of the industry’s top chefs including Michelin-starred chef Andreas Antona, they were also faced with only being given a choice of ingredients 15 minutes before cooking began! 

The International Association of Conference Centres members throughout the world recognise that the quality of food for conference delegates is a major part of the overall experience and being crowned the best in class out of over 25 members in the UK is a pressure worth bearing on the day!

Chairman of Judges Peter Griffiths MBE, President of the British Culinary Federation and Salon Director, Hotelympia, said “This competition is so unique, with just one burner and very limited equipment to work with. All the competitors did exceptionally well, with all the finished dishes worthy of a medal at Hotelympia. The standards set were a credit to all those concerned. The Gold medal winner, Aduilah ‘Scooby’ Azzubair of the Royal College of Physicians, produced a balanced dish, cooked perfectly, with a good depth of harmonised flavours.”

The event was sponsored by CAFE BAR, suppliers of quality beverages to many of IACC’s prestigious venues in the United Kingdom. Mark Cooper, Vice President of IACC Europe proudly awarded the prizes on this great final competition. The winner Scooby will take part in IACC’s international final in Houston, Texas on 21 March. Runner-up in the competition was Etharome Rayappam.

USA Copper Skillet Winner

Four chefs from IACC-member conference centers competed for the title of USA Chef of the Year at the Summit Executive Center in Chicago.  The competitors were Charles Chambers, Executive Sous Chef at Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center; Matt Pinner, Executive Chef at The Chattanoogan; Seth Weiss, Executive Chef at The Conference Center Niagara Falls; and Jeffrey Witte, Executive Chef at Airlie Conference Center.

(Left to right -- Jeffrey Witte, Matt Pinner, Charles Chambers, Seth Weiss)

And the 2012 USA Copper Skillet winner is....

Chef Charles Chambers



 
Hybrid Meeting Strategies and The Conference Center:


SIGN UP TODAY for Samuel J. Smith’s December 8 Webinar

It isn’t too late to sign up for IACC’s Bright Ideas webinar on hybrid meetings, one of the hottest new trends in meetings and events.

By attending this special IACC webinar, you’ll learn how to add a virtual element to the unparalleled face-to-face experience your conference center already offers.

If you sign up by December 5, you’ll receive an exclusive list of five top best practices in hybrid meeting design, prepared with the assistance of our webinar presenter, Samuel J. Smith.

http://events.iacconline.org/BIwebinars/

Study Reveals Insights About Face-to-Face Versus Online Events

(Published in Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine)

On July 18, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), UBM Studios (a UBM company), and the Virtual Edge Institute (VEI) released a joint report, “Business Motivations and Social Behaviors for In-Person and Online Events.” The report, which surveyed 479 marketing and event professionals, sought to understand how digital technologies can be best used within the framework of a work environment, answered questions regarding in-person and online events including why individuals attend, what business goals are achieved and how participants engage within these environments. Key findings include:


• People are social creatures in-person and online. More than 80 percent of respondents are comfortable/extremely comfortable connecting and networking with strangers regardless of the setting — either physical or virtual.

• People share information via social media. 41 percent of online delegates and 51 percent of physical delegates respectively have tweeted and texted to share event information to their entire network.

• People will pay for virtual events. 25 percent of respondents will pay the same fee as an in-person event, and 74 percent will pay less at an in-person event.

• People are multitaskers. Compared to their online counterparts, in-person participants are nearly as likely to be checking email (81 percent versus 83 percent) or leave a meeting/session for some reason (65 percent versus 68 percent).

• People want accessible content. Respondents seek access to content online or via mobile before, during and after the event.

The full report is available at: http://bit.ly/pmksCr.