Nestlé Chef’s Guild of Lanka ‘Golden Chefs’ Hat Competition’ fosters talent

From left: A Baur & Co. CEO Rolf Blaser, Nestlé Professional Country Business Manager Maduranga Perera, Chef Guild of Lanka Chairman Chef Gerard Mendis, Nestlé Professional Vice President Roshan Perera, Winner Cinnamon Grand Hotel Colombo Andige Charith Madawa, Swiss Ambassador Dominik Furgler and Nestle Lanka Managing Director Jason Avanceña 

 From left: A Baur & Co. CEO Rolf Blaser, Nestlé Professional Country Business Manager Maduranga Perera, Chef Guild of Lanka Chairman Chef Gerard Mendis, Nestlé Professional Vice President Roshan Perera, Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel Colombo First Runners Up W.G.M.N. Abeyrathne, Swiss Ambassador Dominik Furgler and Nestle Lanka Managing Director Jason Avanceña 

• Offers four scholarships from the Swiss Hotel Management School

Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Competition is an island wide culinary competition conducted by Nestlé Professional Sri Lanka, in collaboration with Chef’s Guild of Lanka, to nurture new talent in the hospitality industry, which is imperative to prepare itself for the expected tourism boom. 

As the B2B arm of Nestlé Lanka, Nestlé Professional endeavours to work together with food service professionals by offering solutions that address unique business challenges and opportunities to grow and succeed. Towards this end, the company partnered with the Swiss Hotel Management Academy which is among the top 3 hospitality schools in the world, with A. Baur & Co. Ltd. being its local affiliation partner.

Two scholarships were awarded to the winners of the Nestlé Golden Chefs’ Hat Competition, with a further two scholarships awarded to two outstanding students at The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM). 

These scholarships were handed over by Nestlé Professional to the Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association (SLHGA) recently, with the participation of distinguished guests – Chief Guest  Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Dominik Furgler, Chef Guild of Sri Lanka Chairman Gerard Mendis, Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association (SLHGA) President Asela Wevita, A. Baur & Co., MD/CEO Rolf Blaser, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) Chairman Shirantha Peiris, Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu.

Nestlé Lanka Managing Director Jason Avanceña said: “Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, which is an important driver of the economy, experienced many setbacks over the past few years. As such, we are happy to be able to extend our support by fostering the country’s food service industry with not only the best quality solutions offered via Nestlé Professional, but also with platforms such as this. 

“As a company that is committed to unlocking the power of food to enhance quality of lives, we have stood by our stakeholders for over 115 years regardless of the circumstances and we are proud to collaborate with like-minded organizations in this journey of doing good for Sri Lanka. Congratulations to the winners of the Nestlé Golden Chefs’ Hat Competition and the recipients of the scholarships.”

Chef Guild’s Mendis said: “We have a massive challenge in training over 1,000 chefs across the island due to the brain drain the industry is facing currently. In such a backdrop, I’m happy that Nestlé Lanka took the bold initiative of sponsoring this worthy initiative of preparing young apprentice chefs to upskill, benefitting the tourism industry.”

 “The Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduate Association is delighted to be a part of this noteworthy programme. The scholarships awarded by Nestlé Professional will surely help our students upskill themselves, ultimately leading to the betterment of the hospitality sector of Sri Lanka,” said SLHGA’s Wevita.