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The medal winners (front row) with SLITHM Chairman Sunil Dissanayake (centre second row), SLITHM DG Buddhika Hewawasam and faculty members
Students of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) won nine medals at the Culinary Art – Food Expo 2018 which was held recently at the BMICH in Colombo.
This premier national event which was organised by the Chefs Guild of Sri Lanka in association with the World Association of Chefs Societies became the testing ground for over 600 professional chefs representing the biggest names in the hotel trade who competed with each either to vie for culinary glory. At this year’s contest, SLITHM professional cookery students’ team won a Bronze medal in the open category under Sri Lankan Festive Buffet Category while Food and Beverage students won a Gold, two Silver and five Bronze medals under Mocktails and Cocktails category.
The event was declared open by Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga. At the inauguration Amaratunga spoke on the importance of taking Sri Lankan cuisine beyond our shores.
“Our world class talent will define our culinary journey in the days ahead and also help put Sri Lanka on the global map as a destination not only known for its breathtaking natural beauty, culture and history, but also for its unique and spectacular cuisine. It was only last month that the internationally famous Australian publication, Traveller Magazine published a list of countries with a hidden secret that travellers often miss out on. Sri Lanka was one of the countries that made it to the top ten list and our hidden secret as mentioned by the publication, was our food,” he revealed. He noted that with global publications like the Traveller magazine raving about our food, this could be the next big attraction for tourism in Sri Lanka. Culinary Art Food Expo is the national platform to showcase culinary talent in Sri Lanka and is held annually.