Dear members of the Cyprus Chefs Association,
As you all well know, our Association is not only the home but also the refuge of every chef and every pastry chef. With more than 600 members on the island, the Association has maintained an active and successful growth since its establishment in 1994. Since then we have learned to cope with all the adversities and the culinary challenges efficiently and effectively. You should be aware that our vision, which is to keep the importance of our gastronomic identity and our local products intact, to shield and upgrade the role of Head chef/chef and Pastry chef and to move ourselves closer to the gastronomic events, remains inextinguishable.
With persistence and good will, we have learned to move forward effectively and methodically, building a stable basis for the future and sincere cooperation with state bodies as well with companies of the food industry that want to give status to their products through our Association. Throughout the years, we have created our National Culinary Teams, the Regional as well as the Junior Team, which aims to promote Cyprus in all its aspects at the same time nurturing the young successors of our work.
A few years back we created an even better picture for our Association, worthy of its name and history. We have acquired our own home, our own offices and fully equipped multi-purpose gastronomy venue. Through our gastronomic presence in matters that deal with tourism and education, we have established and implemented reliable seminars in thematic modules that cover the modern requirements of the Cypriot and International food market, so that the participants can gain knowledge that can and will be used in the future.
The basic pillars of our continuous successes are the daily and tireless struggles, the continuous development and innovation and we are particularly proud of the strong, transparent and consistent performances. These efforts could not have been achieved without your practical contribution. Finally, it is worth mentioning HORECA –GASTRONOMIA with the Cyprus Chefs Association organising the biggest Pancyprian Gastronomic festival for Culinary Arts. The competitions that take place within the festival enable everyone (members of the Association, students of Hotel and Catering Schools and students of Higher Education) to compete equally aiming to upgrade the professional and technical knowledge and the exchange of invaluable experiences within our profession.
Within the framework of these competitions, there will also be the opportunity of our professional colleagues to display their skills and to represent the Association as well as Cyprus in different International Gastronomic festivals and competitions.
The primary aim of the Association is the continuous qualitative upgrading of Gastronomy and as the ‘’Fete of all the Chefs’’ on the island to continue offering to all the stakeholders, new experiences and precious knowledge which will result in personal and professional growth.
With these precise words, we are continuing to look positively to the future with the promise that the years to come will be as good. We are carrying on even stronger and we are focused on our goals, beliefs and dreams. We are dealing with the challenges and we are actively turning to our culinary activities.
Yours faithfully,
The President
George Damianou