INAUGURAL FONTERRA FOODSERVICES PASTRY CHALLENGE SHOWCASES THE ‘FLAVOURS OF PENANG'

Local chefs beat 14 contenders to win top award

On 23rd October 2009, Fonterra Foodservices Malaysia held the inaugural Fonterra Foodservices Pastry Challenge 2009 at KDU College, Penang Campus, attracting 15 talented local chefs who competed in pairs for the top awards. The participants were required to present two cakes with the theme ‘Flavours of Penang’, to be designed, plated and served, all within three hours.

Following the regional success of the Fonterra Foodservices Pastry Challenge in countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, Fonterra Foodservices, in collaboration with the Chef Association Malaysia, Penang Chapter, lead this prestigious competition to the shores of Malaysia for the very first time this year. The maiden Pastry Challenge was officiated by Dato’ Kee Phaik Cheen, Chairman of the Penang Tourism Action Council (PTAC), who was represented by Cik Sharifah Loon, the Director of Tourism Malaysia, Penang Office.

In her speech read by Cik Sharifah Loon, Dato’ Kee said, “On behalf of the Penang State Tourism Action Council, I must commend the efforts of the organizers in initiating an event of this nature as I believe it will help raise the benchmarks of Malaysian chefs and food operators including those in Penang.”

“I am extremely pleased that Fonterra Foodservices has decided to bring this inaugural event to Penang and I congratulate them for having the foresight to support the local baking and pastry industry as part of their efforts to partner with the industry. The synergy between the professionals and Fonterra Foodservices will certainly raise the standards of our Malaysian hotels, restaurants and cafes, a key driver of our hospitality sector,” she added.

The Best Award Gold winners, Chef Eric Cheam, received prize money of RM 5,000 and get to attend a Pastry Training Course conducted by Jean-Francois Arnaud, the acclaimed Master Pastry Chef who has been conferred numerous awards, including the prestigious Best Pastry Chef of France. The pastry course is sponsored by Fonterra Foodservices as part of its effort to raise the standards of the local foodservices industry.

Meanwhile, the Best Award Silver and Bronze winners received prize money of RM 3,000 and RM 2,000 respectively, while the Best Taste and Best Decorations winners took home RM 1,000 each. The media were also invited to judge the creations to choose the winner for the Media Awards of RM 500.

The entries were judged based on creativity, choice of ingredients, recipe description, presentation and taste, by a panel comprising three reputable chefs from around the region : Eric Anton Roos, Executive Pastry Chef at Sofitel Centara Grand Bangkok, Bruno Cassasus, the R&D Director of HTC in Asia Sdn Bhd and Manfred Kohlen, the Technical Manager & Pastry Chef at Fonterra Foodservices AME (Asia & Middle East).

Tan Chian Pang, Marketing & Channel Development Manager, Fonterra Foodservices Malaysia said, “Fonterra Foodservices is pleased to organise this exciting event here at the Pearl of the Orient. We are honoured to organize the inaugural Fonterra Foodservices Pastry Challenge successfully here with the support of our partners, KDU College Penang Campus, Chef Association Malaysia, Penang Chapter and our distributor BGS Trading Sdn Bhd.”

“Fonterra Foodservices is committed to do its part to foster the development of the local foodservices industry and we strongly believe this Pastry Challenge will serve as a platform for Malaysian pastry chefs especially those in Penang, to share their experience and further improve the professional standards of the local foodservices industry,” he added.

Over the years, Fonterra Foodservices has built a solid track record of successfully catering to the specific needs of foodservice professionals in Malaysia and around the world. Fonterra Foodservices, via its flagship brand, Anchor is currently a leading player in the foodservices market with its finest quality dairy cream, cheese, butter and milk. Anchor has also been the preferred choice of bakers, caterers, commercial kitchens, hotels, restaurants, chefs, quick-service restaurants and cafes in Malaysia.

Tan explained that given the positive response for the inaugural Fonterra Foodservices Pastry Challenge, the Company is keen to organise this contest annually so as to encourage greater participation and contribute further to the development of the foodservices industry in the country.

Alongside the Pastry Challenge was the Penang Delights Exhibition, wherein local delights such as Ban Chien Koay, Oyster Omelette and Bubur Cha-Cha were prepared by creatively incorporating Anchor products into these dishes. Close to 10 hawkers in pairs set up their stalls and served culinary specialities for the over 300 visitors.

Commenting on the good turnout, Tan said: “We are pleased that the public enjoyed the traditional favourite dishes made from Fonterra Foodservices ingredients. The taste of these dishes remains delicious while using Anchor products as a healthier and convenient alternative.”

The participating hawkers used Anchor products such as the Whipping Cream and Butter to substitute some of the ingredients including coconut milk as well as to enhance the flavour of the food. The resulting dishes were not only scrumptious but also wholesome given their dairy nutrition content.

Impressing the judges and visitors with their skilful incorporation of Anchor products as well as presentation of the dishes, Siau Yong Kheng and Cheong Chee Wah were chosen for the Judge’s Choice awarded with RM 2,000 trip voucher and People’s Choice award of RM 1,000 prize money, respectively.

For more details on Fonterra Foodservices and the complete results of the Pastry Challenge please visit http://www.fonterrafoodservices.com.my/.

About Fonterra Foodservices Malaysia
An integral component of Fonterra Brands, Fonterra Foodservices is the leading provider of the widest range of dairy products and ingredients that cater to the needs of professional food service operators around the world. Being the expert in dairy, the company offers products such as ready-to-serve creams, ready-to-serve beverages, butter, milk, cheese and bakery goods that are tailored to provide superior taste, nutrition and cost efficiency so as to create the ultimate dining experience.

Complementing its wide product range, Fonterra Foodservices is also recognized for its high quality practices from source of supply to the consumer. The company’s dedication to quality is validated by the comprehensive testing procedures administrated beginning with the raw milk used as the main ingredient in its products.

Throughout Fonterra’s production sites, their standard management system embraces a comprehensive range of monitoring and audit processes, including ISO9000 independent certification, audits by regulatory agencies and major customers as well as its own internal audit procedures. At the final stage of production just before release for sale, all Fonterra Foodservices products are subjected to an extensive review process to ensure all relevant quality and food safety parameters have been signed off.

Among the leading brands under Fonterra Foodservices are Anchor, Mainland and Perfect Italiano. All Fonterra dairy products are certified halal by the New Zealand Islamic Processed Food Management.

Students and Lecturer of KDU College Shine in Asia’s 1st Culinary Cup 2009

KDU College’s students and lecturer participated in the Asia’s 1st Culinary Cup 2009 which happened in Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, Bangkok recently on 2nd - 5th September. It had coincide with the Food & Hotel Thailand 2009, one of the kingdom’s biggest hospitality trade exhibitions featuring food and drink, hotels, catering, bakery, restaurants and kitchen equipment, retail supplies and services.

Asia’s 1st Culinary Cup will be the first international culinary art contest and convention, and a platform where professionals from all over the world can showcase their talents. The event was organized by the Thai-Swiss Culinary Consultants in association with the Thai Chef’s Association, the Thai Hotels Association and the Thai Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), with experts from World Association of Chef’s Societies (WACS) as consultants.

There were more than 200 award-winning chefs from around the world have confirmed their attendance and the competition will follow the rules of similar projects in Germany, Singapore and France. The judges were well-known culinary experts; most of them were WACS approved international judges.

The participants who took part in the competition will be teams from national and regional culinary associations as well as individual professionals from around the world. Countries such as Australia, Austria, China, Middle East, Holland, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, Taiwan and Thailand.

The four-day Culinary Cup will see competitions in various fields including fruit and vegetable-carving, ice-carving, Thai cooking, Asian cooking, Western cooking, US Turkey-cooking, modern sandwich-making, breakfast-cooking, cake-dressing, meat and poultry-cooking, Italian pasta dishes, petits fours/pralines/tea pastries, dessert-making, East meets West cooking, a Gourmet Team Challenge and the Hans Bueschkens Junior Chefs Challenge.

It was a proud moment for KDU College’s student named Cheah Chew Fong has won the Silver Breakfast Competition and awarded for the Overall Breakfast Champion title. He is currently studying in Semester 6 of the Diploma in Professional Chef Training. Another student who was also in Semester 6, Tan Hun Chuan has won the Silver Breakfast Competition as well. Not forgetting KDU College’s lecturer, Chef Chuah Lay Yen won the Silver Italian Hot Pasta Dish Competition and the Bronze US Turkey Hot Cooking Contest. One of KDU College’s ex-student, Cheng Gaik Chen has grabbed two titles, which are the Bronze Italian Hot Pasta Dish Competition and a Diploma in US Turkey Hot Cooking Contest.

Chef Chuah Lay Yen added, “We encouraged our students to participate in international competitions as they will learn to be more hands-on and it will build up their confidence level. It will definitely prepare them to the working world.” The students and Chef Chuah have brought back medals and certificates with them.

Engineering Course Preview @ KDU College Penang

KDU College Penang also held an Engineering course preview on 15th September 2009 to brief potential interested students on what to expect from the course and the engineering industry. A total of 30 participants attended the preview which lasted about 45 minutes. The speaker for the day, Mr. Peter Harrington, who is the Programme Leader from the School of Computing, Engineering & Information Science, Northumbria University, United Kingdom said that to do well in this course, one must have passion to want to make the world a better place. Engineers play a pivotal role in the society by inventing products that help make life easier for humankind.

To ensure that students get the best learning experience from the
course, visiting lecturers from Northumbria University, make three visits (January, May and September) to KDU College Penang in a year to meet all levels of students, conduct lectures and to interview final year students on their final-year projects. At this moment, Mr. Harrington stressed the importance of the final-year projects and that the experience of doing the projects will help in the students’ engineering careers upon graduation.

For those who are working but wish to upgrade your academic abilities, these Engineering degrees are also available on a part-time basis. The intakes for the degree are available in February and September.

Information Technology Course Preview @ KDU College Penang

An Information Technology (IT) course preview was held at KDU College, Penang on 8th September 2009. A total of 40 participants attended the preview which lasted about one hour. The distinguished speaker was the Programme Director from the School of Computing, Engineering & Information Science, Northumbria University, United Kingdom, Dr. Ian Bradley.

Dr Bradley gave students a sneak peek on the content of the course. The degree conducted at KDU College, Penang is the mirror image of the one conducted at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. Students are assured of the same quality of the course conducted in Penang, but only pay a fraction of the cost. He highlighted the other facilities that are available for students such as the e-learning website where students will be able to download notes and assignments as well as the subjects. Dr Bradley also spoke about the career options that students can consider upon graduation.

Dr Bradley said that over the six years Northumbria University has
collaborated with KDU College to offer the degree programme, students have evolved and become more ambitious in their projects. In a way, they keep challenging their predecessors’ works and have grown in many aspects. He also said that the teaching staff at KDU College, Penang have developed over the years and are constantly learning new things to help students learn better.

13 of October is Paella Day!

On the 13st of Octover you can and should try the freshly made Paella, prepared for you by Chef Kenneth, Chef Raymond, Chef Malcolm, Chef Darren and Team Independent.

Date: 13th October 2009
Venue: Foyer (Next to KDU Square)
Time: 11.00am onwards
Malaysian Seafood Paella + Drink = RM 6

What is Paella?
Paella is a Spanish rice dish with meat, vegetables and seafood cooked in a flavourful stock and simmered gently over a charcoal fire to give you that light smoky aroma.

You can pre-order! Please contact either of the people listed below:

Joey - 012 258 8182
Shar Mayn - 016 639 8063
Tristan - 012 685 1029

Teo Soo Pin Scholarship Presentation (30 Sept 2009)

PETALING JAYA, 1st October 2009 – 143 students from across 9 schools in the Klang Valley were awarded KDU College’s Teo Soo Pin Scholarships for year 2010.

At the scholarship presentation held yesterday, a total of 60 students, from SMK (L) Methodist (Methodist Boys’ School), SMK (P) Pudu, SMK Kepong FRI, SMK Kepong Baru, SMK Bukit Rahman Putra and SMK Seri Saujana, were at the college to receive the scholarship letters and attend a workshop held specially for them. Similar presentations and workshops were also conducted to scholarship recipients from Taiping, Ipoh, Seremban, Klang, Malacca and several other schools in Selangor.

Present at the scholarship presentation were KDU’s Executive Chairman Dato Teo Chiang Quan, CEO & Principal Dr. Chia Chee Fen, Vice Principal Dr. Tan Hui Leng, Centre for Pre-University Manager Ms. Ong Soo Weon and Pre-University Academic Department Head Ms Sathyavathy Rasanayagam.

Dato’ Teo, who is an alumnus of SMK (L) Methodist himself, presented the scholarship letters to the students, who were awarded based on their forecast SPM results.

Addressing the students, he told them the story of how KDU College was built on his grandfather and father’s expectations, aspirations and hope for the younger generation to have a better chance in education.

He said that although both his grandfather and father had little education, they held strong philanthropic values and contributed to society in terms of education as they understood and saw the need for education for all, and instilled the concept of life-long learning in their offspring.

With that vision, KDU was born and the college began its legacy in awarding scholarships.

Dato’ Teo also said that although academic grades are important, it should always be coupled with great human values such as honesty, diligence and having a sense of responsibility, trust and commitment. Students should also concentrate on building their soft skills such as communication to different people and level, as these will all be essential when they begin their journey to higher education as well as their career.

83 other recipients from SMK Taman Bukit Maluri, SMK Taman Desa, SMK Damansara Utama. and SMK USJ 12, not present at the ceremony, were also awarded the Teo Soo Pin Scholarship.

KDU, upholding the values of the Teo family’s patriach, believes that each and everyone should have a right to education. Its objective to assist students in all aspect of their education extends beyond quality improvements in teaching and learning.

The Teo Soo Pin Scholarship is an ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility effort of the college and the Teo family, which began a few years after the inception of the college.

It is an academic merit-based scholarship awarded to high achievers in government schools so that they can have an opportunity to get a good private education. It is also awarded in recognition of their good performance in school.

Besides the scholarship presentation today, the college has awarded the Teo Soo Pin scholarship to a host of students from other schools this year. Out of the 248 students who were awarded the TSP scholarship, which amounted to RM1million, 24 were given full scholarships.

The scholarships, which are for the 2010 January intake, are for programmes housed under the college’s Centre for Pre-University Studies, namely, GCE A Level, UNSW Foundation Year and KDU Foundation Studies. The Centre for Pre-University Studies has been offering Pre-U programmes for more than 25 years with focus on qualified, caring and experienced teaching staff; some of whom have been teaching Pre-U programmes for more than 15 years and are specialists in A level subjects. The Centre has also been receiving scholars from Petronas and JPA since 1990s and many graduates have progressed to Ivy League Universities in the US and Top ranked universities in UK, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

After the presentation, the students proceeded to a workshop on Six Thinking Hats, a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking, conducted by the college’s Teaching and Learning Centre trainers, Mr. Alwyn Lau.and Mr Nelson Allan

The workshop was focused on how to think more systematically and effectively plus how to attain a high-level synergy among team members. These sessions are what all KDU students are expected to undergo as part of their personal development, as the college believes in ensuring that its graduates possess all the necessary skills to make a strong impact in their professional careers.