Thursday 17 January 2019

The Okura Prestige Bangkok Announces 2019 Cooking Competition for Thai Culinary Students

The winner will receive a 9-day educational trip to Hotel Okura Amsterdam

Back by popular demand, The Okura Prestige Bangkok is pleased to announce its 3rd cooking competition with an educational trip to Hotel Okura Amsterdam.

The Okura Prestige Bangkok organised its first cooking competition in 2017 with the main objective of sharing hotel industry knowledge with students studying in the hospitality, kitchen and tourism industries. The previous two installments of the competition drew many interesting and talented students who are committed to a professional career in the kitchen. In the case of Wissarut Aroonsri, who won the 2018 competition with the highest total score, his performance also earned him a position on the culinary team at Elements, The Okura Prestige Bangkok’s Michelin-starred restaurant.

Once again, this year the hotel invites students studying in the hospitality, kitchen and tourism industries to take part in its 3rd cooking competition by sending in their application, accompanied by a short cooking video, to the organising committee. Applicants must be Thai nationals aged 18 - 25 years old. Only 5 qualified applicants will be selected for a training with Master Chef Shigeru Hagiwara at the hotel’s signature Japanese restaurant, Yamazato. At the end of the training course, applicants will prepare signature dishes for an invited committee and distinguished guests at the Judges’ Panel Night, following which the chosen winner will receive a 9-day educational trip to Hotel Okura Amsterdam. The prize includes round trip air tickets to Amsterdam, 8 nights’ accommodation at Hotel Okura Amsterdam, a luncheon and dinner at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurants Yamazato and Ciel Bleu, a day trip in Amsterdam, plus visa arrangements, travel insurance, pocket money and a training course with two-star Michelin Chef Onno Kokmeijer. Chef Onno has been awarded the title SVH Meesterchef (master chef) by the Dutch hospitality organisation Stichting Vakbekwaamheid Horeca. SVH strives to retain and expand professional knowledge in the hospitality industry and awards ‘master’ titles in five categories including chef, host and sommelier. The SVH ‘master’ title is the highest honour awarded by the Dutch hospitality industry. The 9-day educational trip is valued at more than Baht 100,000.

“Our cooking competition offer’s a great opportunity for students seeking careers in the hospitality, kitchen and tourism industries. The standards set by the talented young chefs in our last two cooking competitions were very high and I was so impressed with their passion for the culinary arts. This is not only a competition to win an overseas educational trip, but also an opportunity for the experienced professionals at The Okura Prestige Bangkok to share their knowledge with students who wish to become part of the hotel, and food and beverage industry. I look forward to welcoming applicants to the latest edition of our cooking competition this year,” said Mr. Edward E. Snoeks, General Manager of The Okura Prestige Bangkok.

Interested applicants should submit their application with relevant documents to the Human Resources Department at The Okura Prestige Bangkok before 29 March 2019 and post their cooking video by 5 April 2019. Full details of the criteria for candidates and a scheduled timeline of the cooking competition can be found below.

Criteria for candidates
1. Male or female, Thai nationality, aged between 18-25 years old
2. 3rd or 4th year student of the faculty of tourism, hospitality, cooking school at an accredited university, or 2nd year student of a higher vocational cooking school
3. Minimum GPA 2.75
4. Good command of English
5. Able to travel abroad with written permission from a parent or a letter from his/her educational institution
6. Able to supply all relevant documentation for travel visa application
7. Holds a Thai passport with at least 2 years of validity remaining
8. No contagious or other diseases. Medical certificate required
9. No criminal record
10. Confident to be alone while abroad

Programme/schedule
18 February - 29 March 2019 All candidates are requested to submit their application with supporting document to the HR office (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.)

18 February - 5 April 2019 All applicants are requested to produce a 3-5 mins cooking video. It is mandatory for all application to say the following sentence at the beginning of the video.
“My name is……………..I’m a year ….student at the faculty of …………...at …………University. I wish to apply to be a candidate to win an educational trip to Hotel Okura Amsterdam, which is organised by The Okura Prestige Bangkok 2019.”

Candidates are requested to post their video on their Facebook page, set as public and #TheOkuraPrestigeBangkok #scholarship #HotelOkuraAmsterdam #cookingcompetition with a Tag @TheOkuraPrestigeBangkok @HotelOkuraAmsterdam.

Candidates are also requested to notify the commitee by email (hr@okurabangkok.com) after posting their video.

10 April 2019 Announcement of those passing the first round of selection and proceeding to an English interview with Chef Alvaro and Chef Hagiwara. This will include 10 – 15 persons

18 - 26 April 2019 Window for making appointments for interview with Chef Alvaro and Chef Hagiwara.

30 April 2019 Announcement of the 5 candidates who will proceed to the final round, which will encompass training in Yamazato’s kitchen for 3 weeks.

3 June 2019 Orientation with HR Department from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon.

3 - 21 June 2019 Intensive culinary training programme in Yamazato’s kitchen for 3 weeks.

21 June 2019 Judges’ Panel Night - Each candidate will cook their dishes for the judges. Judges announce the lucky winner.

The winner will need to prepare documents for visa application within the timeline. If not, he/she will be considered disqualified.

Date to be confirmed between
July – August 2019 The lucky winner will spend 9 days on an educational trip at Hotel Okura Amsterdam.

For further information, please contact the Marketing Communications Department at pr@okurabangkok.com or call 02 687 9000.

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