Going Out With a Bang
GRAND BALLROOM, GRAND DORSETT SUBANG HOTEL
FANTASTIC FINALE
The ninth annual Malaysia International Gourmet Festival drew to its traditional close on Monday 2nd November, 2009 with the spectacular Grand Finale Charity Awards Dinner – a showcase of glamour and glitter of which Hollywood itself would be proud of.
Held at the Grand Dorsett Subang Hotel, over 700 guests – a veritable who’s who of Malaysian society – were there to honour the 24 Festival Restaurants and their Master Chefs in the presence of the Festival’s Royal Patron, Tunku Laksamana Negeri Sembilan, YAM Tunku Naquiyuddin ibni Tuanku Ja’afar, accompanied by MIGF Organising Chairman, Dato’ Steve Day and distinguished guests, Secretary General at the Ministry of Tourism, YBhg Dato’ Dr Ong Hong Peng and Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, YBhg Datuk Dr Victor Wee.
CHEFS UNITED!
The night caught alight from the start when Tunku Naquiyuddin and Dato’ Steve refereed a hilarious spoof on soccer. To the blow of the whistle, all the Festival Master Chefs ran on stage carrying giant letters with the aim of lining up to spell the Festival slogan: ”CHEFS UNITED!” The sequence of words and misspellings that they came up with had the audience in stitches. When the ‘referees’ finally penalised their antics with red cards, they were all “sent off” amid a blaze of confetti guns, champagne corks and audience appreciation. It was a great way to kick-off the evening’s proceedings.
With most of the heavy hitters from Malaysia’s F&B industry present, the presentation of the MIGF Awards was much anticipated. The highly coveted Golden Cauldron Award for the Best All-Round Restaurant of the 2009 Festival was won by Pacifica from Mandarin Oriental KL, with Hilton KL’s Iketuru and two of KL’s newest restaurants, Neo and Xenri D’Garden Terrace making up the top four. Chef Bong Jun Choi of Lai Po Heen, also of Mandarin Oriental KL, won a ballot among his fellow chefs to be declared the Festival’s Chef Congeniality.
Golden Cauldron Award For The Best All-Round Restaurant 2009
Pacifica, Mandarin Oriental KL
The Golden Cauldron Award is given to the restaurant that, in the opinion of the Festival Judges, is the best all-round restaurant of the Festival. Marks are given for the standard of cuisine, the enthusiasm and creativity of the chef, kitchen, service and entire restaurant team and the overall service.
Part of the MIGF Grand Finale dinner has always been devoted to giving something back to the less fortunate, and the Festival’s now famous Chefs’ Charity Auction did not disappoint. Celebrity chief auctioneer, Nick Lough, helped to rack up a magnificent sum of RM213,000, with all proceeds being presented to MERCY Malaysia, an NGO that devotes time and resources internationally to assist with natural disasters and communities in need.
INTO THE DEEP
And like with most of the past Finales, there was a surprise in store for the guests. During the auction, two of the ‘chefs’ waiting to be auctioned turned out to be musicians! Casting aside their chef outfits they launched into an impromptu performance on violin and drums. They were soon joined by a double bassist, three cellists and numerous violinists dancing among the tables. “Deep Blue”, a talented, 20 piece, young orchestral group from Down Under had arrived.
They presented a riveting fusion of pop, hip-hop and semi-classical music in virtuoso style. The audience lapped it up, clapped along, and gave a huge, collective gasp of amazement when one of the troupe’s talents made an appearance on stilts, his cello – a large instrument – wedged under his chin as he strode around the stage kicking up his heels and effortlessly playing along with the orchestra.
OFFICIAL VIDEOS!
UNTIL NEXT YEAR!
All in all it was a tremendous ending to the month-long Festival and a fitting tribute to all involved – a fact not lost on the Royal Patron. “What a tremendous evening and what a wonderful Festival we have all had,”said Tunku Naquiyuddin with pride. “Despite the economic downturn the restaurants have really lived up to the Festival theme, Chefs United! They have all pulled together. I cannot believe that every year we manage to surpass the previous year’s efforts and the chefs and organisers rise to the occasion.”
MIGF Organising Chairman Dato’ Steve nodded in agreement and added, “We owe a big debt to our sponsors and media partners. I’m particularly pleased that the Ministry of Tourism is now giving MIGF recognition under YB Dato’ Seri Ng Yen Yen’s new “Fabulous Food 1 Malaysia” programme. While our hawker food is important, we must still support our fine dining industry if we want to attract high yield tourists and convention delegates. Next year marks our 10th anniversary and we certainly hope the government continues to support us.”
While, sadly, MIGF 2009 is over for another year, it just means it’s time to look forward to the next edition. Although 2009 was the biggest and best yet, stay tuned for MIGF 2010 – things will only get better!
