Spotlight

IFCA chefs certified as WACS Certified Chef (WCC)

11 Indian chefs have received an international accreditation from WACS-the global authority on food- for culinary management on par with global standards

Davinder Kumar	Debraj Bhaumik
Elango R	Gev Desai
Natarajan K	Rajesh Radhakrishnan
Sheetharam Prasaad	Soundararajan P
Manjit Singh Gill	Vijay Nagpal

The World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS) is a global network of chefs' associations. Founded in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris, it has 72 member countries with 2.2 million chefs around the world. The biennial congress is a hallmark tradition of WACS and has been organised in over 20 cities across the world throughout its 74- year history. WACS is managed by an elected presidential body which gives international accreditation for chefs enabling them to demonstrate the highest culinary techniques and other aspects of culinary management on par with international standards. Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) is an apex body of all culinary professionals in India.

The following chefs have been certified as WCC (WACS Certified Chef). In India 11 chefs have been certified by WACS and globally 40 chefs have been certified.

• Manjit Singh Gill, corporate executive chef, ITC Welcome Group, Delhi
• Soundararajan P, corporate executive chef, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, India, Chennai
• Natarajan K, corporate executive chef, Taj Leisure Hotels,Chennai
• V Vijayabhaskaran, executive chef, Le Meridien, Bangalore
• Davinder Kumar, vice president, F&B production, Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi
• Gev Desai, area executive chef (West), ITC Welcome Group
• Vijay Nagpal, executive chef, ITC Maurya The Luxury Collection, Delhi
• Sheetharam Prasaad, executive chef GRT Grand Hotels , Chennai
• Elango R, exécutive chef, Radisson GRT, Chennai
• Debraj Bhaumik, executive chef, Club Mahindra, Goa.
• Rajesh Radhakrishnan, executive chef, The Park, Chennai.

On the occasion of the certification, Chef Manjit Singh Gill, president, IFCA, said, "This certification will definitely help professionals in India get international accreditation on par with global chefs."

Chef Soundararajan, general secretary, IFCA, added, "This is a very good opening for chefs in India and this program of certification will help in enhancing culinary knowledge and improving professional standards. I am sure more and more chefs will get trained and will acquire scientific culinary knowledge to get this certification".

Criterion

The Assessed Competencies for WACS Certified Chef:

• Applied sanitation
• Applied nutrition
• Cooking methodology
• Supervisory development

Education and experience

Necessary to have completed secondary education and a considerable amount of work experience also helps. Work experience should include quality training, approved certification / qualification in culinary art and management, sanitation, food safety and hygiene and food cost control.

Why Certification?

It provides resources and knowledge for those who seek it while offering the opportunity for each and every member to become better acquainted with their area of interest and expertise. WACS has been working hard towards achieving this and has started the process of offering education. The first agenda is certification. Certifying one's skill level has numerous advantages. It enables the person taking on this endeavour to learn and become better at their craft. The certification gives an added boost of pride and confidence and encourages other to perform better as well.

Objective:

• To provide a worldwide benefit for WACS members
• To motivate WACS members to work together towards a common goal
• Enhance the profile of the chef in the public eye on a global scale while giving a sense of pride in their profession
• Certification adds extra impetus and validity to the chefs
• Gives globalisation of standards and regulated evaluation of those standards
• Commitment to certification and the residual education benefits it mandates will only raise the professionalism of the chefs who choose to accept the challenge
• Shows commitment to the culinary profession to further develop it
• The WACS challenge to all is to step up and support the need for professional validation by being certified.