Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/780138
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2017 17 MEMBERS of the Corinthia Pal- ace Hotel & Spa's award-winning kitchen brigade have once again proved their incredible skills on an international platform, by tak- ing on other top chefs at the In- ternational Salon Culinaire and returning victorious. In fact, the team – which in- cluded six competing chefs and two mentors – returned with no fewer than 16 honours, including four gold medals. "The International Salon Cu- linaire at the Great Hospitality Show is the UK's largest and most prestigious chef competition programme," says the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa's executive chef Stefan Hogan, who acted as co-mentor to the team during the competition, alongside pastry chef Mark McBride. "It incorpo- rated over 80 classes across four days, and it sought out the very best talent in the industry. Our team are proud to have been among them." The chefs who took part were Jonathan Zammit, Claire Giord- maina, Owen Bonello, Ryan Pisani, Reuben Borg and Victor Vella. Among their top honours, the team walked away with golds in the Amuse Bouche (Zammit), Avocado Starter (Giordmaina), Prawn Starter (Bonello) and Complex Salad (Pisani) class- es. They also received a num- ber of silver, bronze and merit awards, while Zammit received a Chairman's Special Award in Skills Theatre and Giordmaina achieved the highest scoring sil- ver in the Junior Lamb class as a Special Award. "Our chefs really did us proud," continues Stefan. "They took on the challenge of competing inter- nationally at a very high level, and they proved themselves every step of the way. They are now more motivated than ever, and eager to return to our kitchens to ensure the high standards they have set are exceeded every day within the Corinthia Palace restaurants. "Meanwhile, we are already look- ing forward to competing at the next edition of the International Salon Culinaire, in London, next March," Stefan added. Events The Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa's chefs excel at the international salon culinaire HotelsCombined recognise Solana Hotel & Spa amongst the best hotels in Malta HOTELSCOMBINED, the Aus- tralian based hotel meta-search company, has started an exten- sive survey covering different types of accommodations within Malta. This survey is based on gathering data from millions of guest reviews, and translating them to an official Recognition of Excellence. The HotelsCombined Recogni- tion of Excellence is not a ranking list but a group of outstanding ac- commodations chosen based on a strict set of criteria. In order to be considered, properties must meet the following criteria: • At the time of judging, a win- ner is rated 8.0/10 or over with a minimum of 75 customer reviews certified by HotelsCombined. • We couldn't detect any major customer service problems, nor recurring or unresolved issues. Moreover, HotelsCombined is taking in great consideration the way the hotel staff answered the Hotels communication team, demonstrating their commit- ment in providing quick assis- tance. The Solana Hotel & Spa boasts a high satisfaction rating among guests and travel industry ex- perts, receiving 1595 reviews for an impressive rating of 8.0 out of 10. "We are thrilled to be working with the best hotels in Malta and Solana Hotel is certainly among them " said Alberto Castelluc- chio, market manager of Hotel- sCombined Malta "What is dif- ferent about the Recognition of Excellence is the way information is gathered and analyzed: it all depends on the guest and his or her experience with that particu- lar accommodation." "With HotelsCombined 30 million people are finding the best deal available on-line every month. With this award, we'd like to make it even easier for every traveller to identify the best hotel for customer service and therefore the best value for their money". For more details, visit: www.ho- telscombined.com JAYE sign MoU with TradeMalta to facilitate student participation JUNIOR Achievement Young En- terprise Malta Foundation (JAYE Malta) a registered voluntary organisation, TradeMalta and Malta Enterprise have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will facilitate the par- ticipation of youth teams partici- pating in the JAYE Malta Sixth Form Company Programme and University level Start Up Pro- gramme to attend European Trade Fairs and Exhibitions. Through the MoU TradeMalta and Malta Enterprise have agreed to cover up to 50% of the partici- pation and travel costs to attend and partake in an event whereby JAYE Malta participants may ex- hibit their products and services developed during their participa- tion in the respective JAYE Malta Company Programme and Start Up Programme. Trade Malta CEO said "We are very excited to be supporting JAYE Malta and more impor- tantly the Country's future en- trepreneurs. The scope behind our assistance is to give youths in Malta an opportunity to pitch their business ideas at an inter- national event and to get expo- sure in a more competitive envi- ronment. Through this support our youths will also be aware of the existence of institutions like TradeMalta and Malta Enter- prise who have at their disposal a suite of tools that they can ben- efit from in the future once they start their own businesses or join the labour market. On signing the MoU, Julian Azzopardi, JAYE Malta CEO said "It is a great sign of collabo- ration between these organisa- tions working towards the de- velopment of youth start ups in Malta. The significance of this agreement is all the more im- portant given the strong drive to nurture entrepreneurship in Malta amongst youth and offers participants the opportunity to enhance their business skills by engaging with potential custom- ers and investors on a European and global level. We thank Trade Malta and Malta Enterprise for understanding the importance and relevance of the work un- dertaken by JAYE Malta through this MoU". Anton Buttigieg, CEO TradeMalta; Julian Azzopardi, CEO JAYE Malta; Marika Tonna, COO Malta Enterprise; David Pace, Chairperson JAYE Malta; Mark Pizzuto, Manager - Trade Promotion TradeMalta