On Tuesday, 5 April 2022, in the gardens of the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus (AXIK), the award ceremony of the Gastronomic Competition GALLOFONIA 2022, organised in the framework of the celebration of Francophonie 2022, took place. The ceremony was graced with the presence of the Ambassador of France to Cyprus Mrs. Salina Grenet-Catalano, who presented the prizes to the first three teams that were distinguished and the participation certificates to all participating students.
The competition on the theme "High gastronomy menu with local products: the halloumi" took place on 30 March 2022. The competition was preceded by two master classes/seminars held on 28 and 29 March on "Haloumi and its use in Cypriot Gastronomy" and "The Use of French PDO Cheeses in French Gastronomy" respectively. The purpose of these events was to celebrate the French language and its use in gastronomy. At the same time, they aimed to highlight the excellence and creativity of French gastronomy, while promoting the use of local products in the context of sustainable development.
The event took place within the framework of the close cooperation established by the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus with the French Institute of Cyprus, the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Chefs Association. The competition was attended by students of higher education institutions in Cyprus in the field of gastronomy who are taking a French language course.
In her address, the French Ambassador to Cyprus praised the importance of this innovative competition, which highlights the link between the French language and gastronomy. She recalled the richness and uniqueness of French gastronomy and its inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Ms Salina Grenet-Catalano congratulated the AXIC for the initiative and pointed out that the combination of the use of French for professional purposes with gastronomy in the competition showed that French is, among other things, a very important working language and a professional asset in the modern world. He stressed the importance of the theme of the competition and the need to develop a more responsible gastronomy that respects the environment and available resources, a fact underlined by the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.
In her speech, the Director of AXIK Dr. Evi Sotiriou said that the gastronomic competition was the natural evolution of years of investment and excellent cooperation developed with the French Institute of Cyprus, the University of Cyprus and the Association of Cyprus Chefs, in the context of which many innovative and beneficial actions were undertaken. The pilot implementation of the gastronomic competition last year laid the foundations for the development of a very useful educational institution, which promotes important educational objectives and highlights the use of the French language in the field of gastronomy. This year's event brought a very topical theme: the use of the recently certified PDO haloumi in haute cuisine. Students competed on this topic with excellent results. This was preceded by two master classes/seminars with distinguished speakers who developed the topic educationally, including a French chef awarded with the highest honor for chefs in France as Meilleur Ouvrier de France as well as a Michellin star.
A short address was also given by the President of the Department of French and European Studies and Ann. Professor Fryni Cacoyannis Cacoyannis-Doa, Chair of the Department of French and European and European Studies and Director of the Language Centre of the University of Cyprus, and the Honorary President of the Cyprus Chefs Association, Chef Marios Hadjiyosif, who praised the importance of the competition and the success of the event.
The ceremony was attended by officials from the educational, hotel and tourism sectors. During the ceremony, prizes were awarded to the top scoring teams (gold, silver and bronze) and certificates of participation to the students who competed. The top scoring team also won flight tickets to Paris offered by the French Institute of Cyprus.
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