Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, March, 2013 – The culinary team from The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh was recognized as one of the region’s best at the Salon Culinaire 2013 competition. The palatial hotel scooped up four medals, nine Certificates of Merit, and became the first property outside of the UAE to be awarded the ‘Best Hygiene Award.’
The Emirates Salon Culinaire, one of the top three culinary competitions in the world, brought together over 2,000 chefs from hotels around the globe for its 2013 edition. The competition is one of the industry benchmarks for best-in-class teams across a number of categories and focuses on artistic skills as well as culinary flair.
The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh took the gold award for its outstanding ‘Open Showpiece’; and won silver in the Ice Carving, Practical Fruit & Vegetable and Best Beef Practical categories.
Executive Chef Christopher James Stephens said: “As the only team participating from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we were proud to fly the flag for the Kingdom at such a prestigious event. We underwent extensive training for two months ahead of the competition, to hone our level of skill and artistry, and it has paid off well. The competition was also a great learning experience and an opportunity to meet and mingle with our peers in the culinary industry from around the world.”