INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION EMERGES AT LEE KUM KEE INTERNATIONAL YOUNG CHEF CHINESE CULINARY CHALLENGE 2018
International Champion Emerges at Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2018
Themed “Excel on Traditions Converging Global Culinary Talents”
Talents across 17 countries and regions demonstrate culinary prowess
Lee Kum Kee applies to establish “Hope as Chef Charitable Foundation”
Nurturing youngsters to realise their culinary dreams and inherit Chinese culinary culture
(Hong Kong, 21 September 2018) “Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2018” (LKKIYCCCC 2018) was held successfully with all the winners announced last night! Joung Duck Su (Korea), with his winning dish “130th Anniversary Wealthy Meatballs”, ingeniously matched the ingredients with Lee Kum Kee sauces and condiments, standing out from the 42 participating young chefs to win the “Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award”. A grand Award Presentation Dinner was held last night, well attended by nearly 350 guests from Chinese culinary associations, and industry elites from all over the world to witness the birth of the winners. During the dinner, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman Mr. Charlie Lee announced that the Company was launching the establishment of “Lee Kum Kee Hope as Chef Charitable Foundation”, with the aim of lifting the Group’s key corporate social responsibility programme “Hope as Chef” to a new stratum, supporting more aspiring young people from around the world to receive professional Chinese culinary training and inherit the Chinese culinary culture.
Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman Mr. Charlie Lee said, “LKKIYCCCC is at its third edition this year, and has received immense support from industry partners, as well as young talents from 17 countries and regions around the world, fully embodying this year’s theme of ‘Excel on Traditions Converging Global Culinary Talents’. With our longstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility, today we officially apply to establish ‘Lee Kum Kee Hope as Chef Charitable Foundation’, symbolising that the project will chart new grounds by helping more young people to master their skills for employment, achieve their career aspirations and promote the sustainable development of the Chinese culinary industry.”
Mr. Francis Chan, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group stressed, “Having a 130 years’ history, Lee Kum Kee always makes strides with times. Young chefs also need to innovate and ‘excel beyond traditions’. We are very pleased to see that the contestants have honed their skills and emerged through the mold with creativity to lift Chinese cuisines to new heights. We would like to express our gratitude for the leadership of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, and the support by 22 Chinese culinary associations and industry partners. Congratulations to all the winners! I hope all will continue in your efforts to develop your culinary skills for the purpose of promoting Chinese cuisines worldwide.”
Speaking on behalf of the panel of seven distinguished judges, Chef Li Yao Yun, said, “This year’s contest is based on the theme of ‘Excel on Traditions Converging Global Culinary Talents’, with participants harnessing their creativity and culinary skills to create sumptuous and delectable dishes. Making our judgement is challenging indeed. We look forward to seeing our young chefs continue to break through boundaries, to create more delicacies in the future with the application of Lee Kum Kee sauces, thus carrying forth the Chinese culinary culture to the future.”
Madam Shang Haling, Secretary General of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) was pleased with the resounding success of the contest, and expressed, “I am truly impressed by the rich array of extraordinary cuisines in this year’s contest. These exquisite dishes clearly demonstrate how the Chinese culinary culture makes strides in all directions and highlight its latest trends. Indeed, LKKIYCCCC has become a high-standard global contest.”
Joung Duck Su (Korea), the winner of this year’s “Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award”, said, “I am very honoured to be the champion of LKKIYCCCC 2018, and am most grateful to the judging panel for their recognition. I have gained fruitful experience by taking this opportunity to hone my culinary skills and exchange with counterparts from around the world, utilising Lee Kum Kee sauces to create new dishes. Moving forward, we as young chefs will continue to strive hard and showcase the Chinese culinary culture to the rest of the world.”
In addition to this year’s new “Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award”, three gold, five silver and 33 bronze awards were also presented at the ceremony. Futhermore, this year’s “Most Creative Award” also went to the champion Joung Duck Su (Korea) with his winning dish “130th Anniversary Wealthy Meatballs”; Yip Ming Wai (Hong Kong) won the “Best Sauce Combination Award” with “Yummy Prawn with Sweetie and Spicy”; and “The Tales of Bamboo Princess” by Hikita Shoichiro (Japan) won the “Best Presentation Award “. Awards are granted to the winners to recognise their remarkable performance in the multifarious culinary areas.
About “Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2018”
“Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge” (LKKIYCCCC) was held in Hong Kong on 19 and 20 September 2018. 42 aspiring young chefs from 17 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, the Netherlands and the United States competed for the international championship in a two-day contest by creating one dish in 90 minutes with the designated ingredients paired with Lee Kum Kee sauces and condiments.
Seven influential Asian chefs formed a judging panel for this year’s contest, including Chef Chen Hui Rong, Chef Kondo Shinji, Chef Leung Fai Hung, Chef Li Yao Yun, Chef Lu Ching Lai, Chef Pung Lu Tin and Chef Jacky Yang. The judges evaluated the dishes based on taste, texture, creativity, presentation and hygiene for selecting the world champion of“Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award”, and winners of Gold Awards, Silver Awards, Bronze Awards and four excellence awards, including “Most Creative Award”, “Best Sauce Combination Award”, “Best Presentation Award” and “Best Dish Award” (for each main ingredient).
Since its inception in 2014, the LKKIYCCCC has been a biennial contest that demonstrates the Group’s core value of “Si Li Ji Ren” (Considering Others’ Interests), thereby promoting Chinese cuisines for the robust development of global Chinese culinary industry.
About Hope as Chef programme
In manifestation of the Group’s core value of “Si Li Ji Ren” (Considering Others’ Interests), Lee Kum Kee has launched the Hope as Chef programme since 2011 to help youths from less developed regions who wish to become chefs, and fully subsidises them to study at national key vocational high schools in Beijing and Chengdu to learn Chinese cooking skills. The project has benefitted over 640 aspiring youngsters with passion for Chinese cooking from 19 provinces in China over the eight years. Close to 320 students joined the catering industry in major cities in China after graduation, contributing towards the development of the Chinese culinary industry. In 2018, Lee Kum Kee officially applied to establish the “Hope as Chef Charitable Foundation”, to contribute to the development of the industry.
About Lee Kum Kee
Lee Kum Kee was established in 1888 when its founder Mr. Lee Kum Sheung invented oyster sauce. With a glorious history of 130 years, Lee Kum Kee has become a household name of Chinese sauces and condiments, as well as an international brand and a symbol of quality and trust. Lee Kum Kee has straddled three centuries and become a globally renowned Chinese enterprise offering over 200 choices of sauces and condiments to over 100 countries and regions. For more details, please visitwww.LKK.com.
Press release sent by Above The Line for and on behalf of Lee Kum Kee.
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Drawing from years of experience, Chef Li Yao Yun (centre), China Master Chef representing the judging panel shared his insights on this year’s contest
Photo 2: Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman Mr. Charlie Lee (centre) announced the Company was launching the establishment of “Lee Kum Kee Hope as Chef Charitable Foundation”, striving for supporting more aspiring young people from around the world to receive professional Chinese culinary training and inherit the Chinese culinary culture
Photo 3: Mr. Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman (centre), presented the prizes to Joung Duck Su (Korea), champion and winner of the “Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award” (first from right), and the three Gold Award winners Yip Gian Ding (Malaysia) (second from left), Yuan Jian Hua (China)(first from left) and Hikita Shoichiro (Japan)(first from right)
Photo 4: Mr. Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman, judges and winning contestants posed for a group photo
Photo 5: Winner of “Lee Kum Kee 130th Anniversary Best Heritage Tasting Award” and “Most Creative Award” Joung Duck Su (Korea), with the winning dish “130th Anniversary Wealthy Meatballs” at “Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2018”
Photo 7: “Best Presentation Award” went to Hikata Shoichiro (Japan) with the winning dish “The Tales of Bamboo Princess”
