Recently, more than 500 chefs, restaurateurs and caterers from the Philippine food industry gathered in a one-day-only event for the Culinary Festival 2014, hosted by Unilever Food Solutions (UFS)—the food service arm of Unilever, maker of Knorr, Lady’s Choice, Best Foods and Lipton.
This exciting culinary event pooled in together food-industry experts in the Philippines to look into the latest trends and practices that are expected to shape the Philippine dining landscape. “Our mission at Unilever Food Solutions is to equip members of the food-service industry with product solutions, coupled with the skills and knowledge, needed to run an efficient commercial kitchen nowadays,” Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) Philippines Channel Marketing Manager Seanta Pasic-Reyes shared. UFS brings this to life through the Chefmanship Academy, a roving culinary training program designed to meet the diverse needs of food-service professionals.
Since its inception in Germany back in 2009, the program has catered into more than a million food-service professionals all over the world. The program offers a wealth of topics, combining real-world insights with industry research to offer hands-on learning experiences. “This year to be able to make this program more accessible to Filipinos, we have raised Chefmanship Academy to a bigger scale through this celebration of culinary arts with the Culinary Festival.”
In order to help address the various business and operational needs food professionals encounter each day, the festival featured three tracks in the morning to focus on the Business of Food, Impactful Food Trends, and Digital and Social Marketing. Talks were led by RJ Ledesma, Chef Robby Goco, Joanna Manalastas, JJ Yulo, Chef George Lizares and Pong Go.
The event captured three major game-changing trends food professionals need to watch out for: integrating sustainability on menus, microtargeting customers, and pushing the power of digital media.
“As we recognize the needs of chefs, restaurateurs and caterers in the Philippines, the Culinary Festival successfully responds to these needs, which continuously help in pushing the envelope and growth of our very own food industry,” Reyes said. “With new discoveries and the passion of all members in this dynamic industry, the future of Philippine foodservice is, indeed, extremely exciting,” Reyes added.
For more information about how UFS can help grow your food business, visit www.UFS.com.