Dubai WACS Congress Day Zero
Saturday, May 10th, 2008I must be one of be luckiest unemployed chefs in the world.
Due to a last minute work situation our Hong Kong Chefs Association, 2nd Vice President, Hans Rudi Nussbaumer; was unable to represent Hong Kong, in Dubai, at the World Association of Chefs Societies, Congress held in a different international location, every two years.
I – QED – was available and absolutely delighted, to serve both as a poor replacement delegate for Hans Rudi, as well as the HKCA live reporter to the event.
Our Hong Kong delegation met at the Hong Kong International Airport for a midnight flight to Dubai, UAE. Among our delegation: Our President, Chef Rudolph Muller, EXCO Member, Chef Billy Yeung, Hong Kong Young Chefs Club Chairman, Chef Francis Lo, and Myself. Also meeting us in Dubai, was Chef Mak Kam Kui, fresh from managing the Ladies Team in Singapore, and now bringing a team from the Hong Kong Disneyland Hollywood Hotel, to represent Hong Kong in the MLA Black Box competition.
The flight was nice, safe and quiet, though the fates, in an effort to extract some small payment for my great fortune, saw fit to sandwich me in, between two very large, and very noisy Romanian Women. My mantra for the duration was “it’s only 8 hours” which served me well enough.
Upon arrival in Dubai, it seems Billy thought our travel was too comfortable, and so he set about being detained at immigration by the Dubai authorities, for lack of a visa, which apparently (as we thought before and learned afterwards) he did not actually need. Billy was finally released to our welcoming arms after about 6 hours of discussion and assistance from the WACS organizers.
So, with a scant few hours of uncomfortable sleep, and a blazing mid-day awaiting us in Dubai, we set off to explore this amazing, high-tech, city that has suddenly sprung up as a largely man-made oasis in one of the most hostile desserts in the world
We did manage to barely break the surface with some brief tourist stops at museums, markets, mosques, modern attractions, and of course we sampled much of the wonderful Middle Eastern food. Then it was time to check in and freshen up before heading to the WACS Congress pre-opening cocktail party.
The Party was a fine affair of meeting long parted friends as well as making new ones. Rudy, showed one of the reasons why he is such an excellent choice to represent us, in that it seems that he knows and gets along well with nearly everyone who has joined the congress, sharing admiring embraces throughout the evening.
With name cards exchanged all round, bellies full, palates sated, and the dessert night beginning to cool, we headed back to our hotel for some rest before the early morning opening ceremony and congress first meeting.
Christopher Gallaga Reporting from Dubai,
Sunday, May 11, 2008;
