Dairy Products from France sponsors Middle East Junior Chef of the Year 2007

JCY 2007 will take place from July 5th to July 11th at the Festival Waterfront Center, Dubai Festival City.

This year up to 800 hopefuls will participate in a week of live cooking under the watchful eye of an international panel of top judges made up of 6 Senior Chefs. The Junior Chefs will have to bring out their culinary art and showcase their creative skills and know-how throughout the different cooking classes. Visitors will have the pleasure of experiencing live cooking sessions and innovative new recipes. The ambition of JCY is not only to inspire junior chefs and to encourage UAE nationals to consider a career in the hospitality profession, but also to enhance the international culinary prestige of the UAE.

French Dairy products will be the only dairy products used throughout the contest for the different classes. French dairy products range from milk to powdered milk, butter, cream and most famously, cheese, for which France is one of the biggest and most popular producers worldwide. With 22 regions producing milk and cheese, France offers an assortment of over 500 cheese varieties and more than 1000 different brands. The product range used for the contest will essentially consist of cream, butter and cheese.

'The active participation of Dairy Products from France in the JCY event proves its commitment to comply with the world-renowned standards of hospitality and cuisine that are being offered in the Middle East and to support the culinary minds of the region as well as encourage their sense of creativity through competition,' commented Eric Santier, Managing Director of SOPEXA Dubai, the French Food Marketing Board, and representative office for the Middle East.

'Due to the tourism boom, the catering sector offers enormous growth potential for food imports. French cream is already used in many 4 and 5 star hotels, and we think that there are new opportunities for our other products, especially cheeses. The JCY is the perfect occasion to encourage the young chefs to use French cheese and dairy products in original recipes.'

Furthermore, the French government through its official associations of the dairy sector and in collaboration with SOPEXA, the French Food Marketing Board, supports a communications campaign to promote the exportation of French dairy products with various promotional activities planned throughout the Middle East.

The objective is to inform consumers about the French dairy industry's know how and experience in order to strengthen its position in the marketplace and to maintain and expand markets and uses for dairy products in the Middle East. The campaign will also emphasize on how to incorporate French dairy products into Middle Eastern cuisine by highlighting the advantages of taste and practicality. The aim being to expand market shares by integrating the use of French dairy products into local habits of consumption.

Various promotional activities started in June and will be carrying on throughout the summer. Amongst them:


•The 'French Dairy Festival' which took place during the month June in 6 Carrefour outlets throughout the Emirates. A 'scratch & Win - be a Chef with French Dairy Products' promotion was held to reinforce the image of French Dairy products


•Trainings by a French cheese specialist in the catering sectors will take place in August 2007 to familiarize the employees and Food and Beverage Managers of 5* restaurants and hotels with French Brands, the French origin of dairy products, but also to enable these professionals to recommend French products and/or to inform the final consumer about the particularity of French cheeses.


•Promotional stands will be set-up in the 3 main shopping malls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia throughout August and September to promote and familiarize the Saudi population with French dairy products. The Dairy Products from France promotions include cheese tasting with professional trained hostesses and the distribution of brochures presenting the specifications of French cheeses and a recipe booklet with easy recipes using French dairy products.