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From Silverback Mountain Gorillas to Silverchefs – how meals helps put the Gorilla Highlands of southwestern Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC on the vacationer map.
“You got here all this fashion simply to attend a cooking competitors?”
After a month of dwelling within the village on posho (maize porridge) and beans, little persuasion was wanted to journey a day and a half to style the creations of sixteen cooks and to benefit from the Kigali Marriott Lodge’s phenomenal breakfast!
How may I resist the lure of meals (that I didn’t have to arrange), a keep in a prime worldwide lodge, the possibility to be taught extra about hospitality (my first jobs had been in resorts) and to community with tourism colleagues and media from throughout East Africa?
Most significantly although, I used to be delighted to be invited to assist the work of Gorilla Highlands (the brains behind the Silverchef Competitors), creating optimistic tales about this ridiculously stunning nook of the world.
And so it was that I discovered myself touring from my present house close to Fort Portal to Kigali: by boda boda, matatu taxi, bus, personal rent automotive, one other matatu, bus (Jaguar Government Coaches, comme d’habitude) and eventually a moto (the Rwandese phrase for motorcycle or boda boda) from Nyabugogo bus park in downtown Kigali.
What’s the Silverchef Competitors?
“In a spirit of pleasant co-operation” sixteen cooks representing sixteen institutions from Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo congregated on the Kigali Marriott Lodge for Gorilla Highlands’ Silverchef Competitors 2018.
Two shifts of eight cooks took over the 4 kitchens of the Marriott Lodge to arrange their dishes. Behind the scenes, the judges watched the cooks’ preparations. Every chef had the identical substances (factors had been deducted for anybody who didn’t stick carefully to the principles!) Cooks had been judged not just for the style of their meals however the cooks’ presentation abilities, their creativity and their time administration abilities.
Speaking in regards to the competitors, Miha Logar of Gorilla Highlands mentioned “It’s good for cooks to get away from their very own atmosphere occasionally. They usually lead a demanding way of life, distant from their household. We consider that occasions like this construct a chef’s self-confidence. Having the possibility to journey is a little bit of an journey, whether or not visiting a brand new nation or a special a part of their very own nation.”
Not solely was 2018 memorable for being Silverchef’s inaugural occasion in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo additionally joined the competitors for the very first time. (Guess which fortunate journey blogger has an invite to Goma?)
“It’s been an enormous choice to work within the DRC and I’d wish to thank all of the stakeholders within the area who’ve given their enter, solutions and ideas on this topic.” Will subsequent 12 months’s Silverchef discover us within the DRC? We wait and see.
Earlier editions of Silverchef have been held in Uganda: in Kisoro, Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi.
What’s journey with out good meals?
Though at first look the purpose of the Silverchef Competitors is to win the prized silver chef’s hat, the occasion is a part of a much bigger strategic initiative. On the coronary heart of the Gorilla Highlands’ philosophy is the idea that tourism is usually a main device for growth. Tourism creates much-needed jobs and alternatives to coach. With little native trade or manufacturing, tourism is one of the best wager for bringing income. Monetary funding is essential, however coaching, alternative, innovation and self-confidence are additionally essential.
Cooks carry their supporters and managers to Silverchef. Some lodge managers journey to the occasion searching for new employees. For lodge employees, tour operators and the broader tourism trade, the weekend of the annual Gorilla Highlands Silverchef Competitors is an opportunity to work together, community and be taught – about cooking, regional tourism and hospitality, and what tourism within the area must develop and flourish.
This 12 months’s Silverchef judges had been (from left): final 12 months’s Silverchef winner Allan Mukasa, Sylvia Kalembe of Uganda Tourism Board, Chief Choose Professor Wolfgang Thome, Yves Ok. Ngenzi of Rwanda Improvement Board and Andre Ngoja-Ngoja from HORECA the Affiliation for Hoteliers, Eating places and Cafes in North Lake Kivu, DRC. The incomparable compere was Nash Barrett, Co-Founder SafeMotos.
What’s Gorilla Highlands?
Many vacationers come to this space of East Africa due to the gorillas, however there’s a lot extra to discover within the area: mountaineering volcanoes, staying the night time in a group homestay, experiencing one of many area’s cultures and consuming good meals in fact!
So who had been the winners of Gorilla Highlands’ Silverchef 2018?
In keeping with Miha, “in our e-book, all of the competing cooks are winners. They’ve dedicated to collaborating within the competitors and we’re grateful for that.” That mentioned, right here’s the checklist of High quality Cooking Certificates winners:
- Chef “Rama” Ramadhan Sindayigaya, Marriott, Kigali (Rwanda) – Gorilla Highlands Silverchef 2018 and finest Rwandese chef.
- Mukungu Akimu, Grand Legacy Lodge, Jinja (Uganda) – finest Ugandan chef
- Manishimwe Jean Bosco, Lake Kivu Serena Lodge, Gisenyi (Rwanda)
- Musasa Marcellin Tshite, Virunga Lodge, Volcanoes Nationwide Park (Rwanda)
- Odeke Silver, Cephas Inn, Kabale (Uganda)
- Jean Bosco Birindwa, Ihusi Lodge, Goma (DR Congo) – finest Congolese chef
- Otim Amos, Protea Lodge, Kampala (Uganda)
- Emmanuel Murwanashyaka, ParkInn by Radisson, Kigali (Rwanda)
- Sam Mbabazi, Bunyonyi Overland Resort, Kabale (Uganda)
- Paul Mulyampiti, BirdNest Resort – Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
One of the best Rwandan chef additionally acquired a prize from Rwanda Improvement Board: a visit to Volcanoes Nationwide Park to monitor the gorillas! The successful chef from Uganda received a visit to monitor the gorillas in Uganda, courtesy of the Uganda Tourism Board and Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Go to the Gorilla Highlands web page to be taught extra about journey in southwestern Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo.
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