News From : DagangHalal.com (17 Mar 2010)
andar Seri Begawan – The promotion of Brunei Halal Brand received an overwhelming response yesterday following the launching of the ‘Cooking from the Heart’ competition, which is being organised by Brunei Wafirah Holdings Sdn Bhd in collaboration with Ghanim International Food Corporation Sdn Bhd.
Dayang Hajah Normah Suria Hayati binti Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Awang Mohd Jamil A1-Sufri, the Director of Agriculture and Agrifood, said: “The competition is part of the promotion programme for Brunei Halal Brand. We wanted to do something different from the normal promotion activity and this is something special.”
She said: “We are going to publish a cookbook and it is just like having a product under the Brunei Halal Brand. The winning recipes will be published in August this year and the winners will be announced during the International Halal Expo in June.”
It was learnt that the “Cooking from the Heart” cookbook will be made available in Brunei Darussalam, as well as overseas. Meanwhile, Celebrity Chef Bobby Chinn said the competition was good for the industry because it supports the Halal industry, which is backed by the government. “It will give people opportunities to go to the process of creating a dish and working on the dish. I think competitions are kind of fun,” he said.
Speaking of local food, Bobby Chinn said, “I love the food here. I like spicy and hot food. Ambuyat is one of the interesting dish I’ve tried in Brunei.” Meanwhile, the chief judge of the competition, Executive Chef Torsten Schubert of Empire Hotel, said he loved the idea of getting everyone involved in the cooking competition.
Normally, in cooking competitions, people would see only professionals do the cooking, he said. “But now, everybody can join… they can be housewives, students and people of other professions.”
He noted that cookbook, which will promote the Brunei Halal Brand, would be “the start for further events”.
“Slowly, Brunei can be on the culinary platform and the Brunei Halal Brand will further be marketed to the world,” he added.
Besides Chef Torsten Schubert, the panel of judges will include Chef Noor Hisham bin Yussof, Chef Rezal bin Othman, Chef Henry Tan, Chef Masri Hassan, Chef Barnitus Ang, Pg Md Wahab bin Pg Hj Abdullah and Hjh Rokiah Abu Bakar.
Written by James Kon
— Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin