Lesley Griffiths, minister for environment, energy and rural affairs hosted a reception at Senedd in Cardiff to pass on the nation’s best wishes to the chefs who will be competing in the Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart from February 14 to 19. 

Around 2,000 chefs from more than 60 countries will compete at the Culinary Olympics.  

Griffiths said: “I was delighted to host this Senedd send-off event and give fellow AMs the chance to join me in wishing our two teams of highly skilled chefs the very best of luck during the prestigious IKA Culinary Olympics

“This event also provides the perfect platform to attract the support of national culinary associations as we bid to bring the Worldchefs Congress and Expo to Wales in 2024. 

“We are really gaining a reputation as a food and drink nation – as proven by the recent figures which show last year, we smashed our ambitious industry target of achieving £7 billion turnover.  Winning the bid to host such a high-profile event in Wales would provide a further boost for our thriving food and drink industry.”

The majority of chefs will be making their international debut at the competition. Junior chefs are aged between 19 and 21-years-old, while Nick Davies who is set to compete at his fifth Culinary Olympics manages the senior chefs. 

Arwyn Watkins, president of the Culinary Association of Wales, added: “It’s a huge accolade for the Culinary Association of Wales to be invited by the Minister to give the two teams a Senedd send-off to the Culinary Olympics. It’s also an opportunity to highlight all the good work done by our members as real ambassadors for Wales on the international stage.

“2020 is going to be a very important year for the association and for Wales as we bid jointly with ICC Wales to host the Worldchefs Congress and Expo in 2024. I shall be spending the majority of my time at the Culinary Olympics lobbying fellow presidents of Worldchefs member countries to vote for Wales.”

The senior team presents its chef’s edible buffet on 16 February and its restaurant of Nations menu on 18 February.  The junior team delivers its 

Restaurant of Nations menu for 60 covers on 15 February and its chef’s edible buffet two days later.