Cinnamon’s city hotels bag 21 golds at Chef Guild Culinary Art competition

Cinnamon’s city hotels – Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo and Cinnamon Red – proved their culinary excellence at the Chef Guild Culinary Art 2015 event, which took place from 24-26 July at the BMICH.

Bringing home a total of 21 gold medals, 24 silvers and 37 bronze medals, Cinnamon’s city hotel cluster gathered the highest medal tally of 83, 15 of which were gold. Another 13 silver medals and 20 bronze medals were awarded to Cinnamon Grand associates. Cinnamon Lakeside managed to secure five golds, 10 silvers and 15 bronze medals while Cinnamon Red, in just a single year of operation, won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Among the golds, Cinnamon Grand’s W.D.S. Vijitha Kumara was awarded a Gold Excellence Award for Artistic Pastry Showpiece for one of his outstanding creations while from Cinnamon Lakeside, Chamila Nadeera Gajasinghe and Sasiri Ruksala won Gold Excellence awards for the Dress the Cake (live) and Arrack and Vodka Cocktail competitions.

Cinnamon Grand’s participants secured 48 medals in total, Cinnamon Lakeside 30 and Cinnamon Red five.

The three-day competition saw over 2,500 participants battling it out for top honours under various categories such as practical live, static display and beverage. The competition is organised annually for participants to showcase their creativity, gain industry exposure and discover opportunities in the international arena. 

The competition requires months of hard work and practice from the participants. They are encouraged to become culinary artists, responsible for skillfully preparing meals that are pleasing to the palate as well as to the eye. They are required to possess knowledge of the science of food and an understanding of diet and nutrition. 

For Cinnamon’s city hotels, the Chef Guild Culinary Art 2015 is an opportunity for chefs who work tirelessly behind the scene every day to shine on a wider scale. As corporate entities that continuously seek to raise the bar in culinary excellence, this competition is looked upon as an ideal platform for the talented personnel to both hone their skills and strengthen the hold of the hotels as masters in the field. Commenting on the achievement, Executive Vice President John Keells Holdings and Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Sector Head-City Hotels, Rohan Karr said: “Food and beverage play a pivotal role in the product and service offerings of any hotel. With a multiplicity of options in restaurants and bars under the Cinnamon’s city hotels umbrella totaling a remarkable 26 outlets, the excellences of our chefs and F&B personnel are very important to us.” Karr added: “There’s a constant evolution transforming Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry. In this regard, it is essential that we continue pushing boundaries to infuse an innovative spark and pioneering spirit in everything we do. The accolades received at the Chef Guild Culinary Awards are a testament to our associates doing just that in the culinary field. We are extremely proud of each and every one of our team members.”