Press release and images on Dilmah Tea at the WACS WorldChefs Congress 2014 from Dilmah

The World Association of Chefs Societies also knows as WACS or WorldChefs, have their global congress every two years. In 2014 the chosen city was Stavanger in Norway, and this year there was a distinct fragrance of tea. Dilmah is a major sponsor of WACS since 2013 and an element in the partnership was the inclusion of tea inspired food as a part of the Global Chefs Challenge, the Young Chefs Challenge and the Pastry Challenge.

The Dilmah Trophies for the best use of tea went to the Czech National Team whilst the winner of the Chefs Challenge overall was Norway, with The US team coming in second.
President of WACS Gissur Gudmundssen invited Dilhan, son of Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando to speak at the Congress on Family Business and Sustainability. In a well received presentation Dilhan shared his father's philosophy, explaining the Dilmah commitment to caring and sharing as a natural extension of the family values that are integral to the brand. Exhorting other businesses to review the purpose of business at a time when poverty levels and the environment are in crisis, Dilhan shared examples of the work of the MJF Foundation and Dilmah Conservation in effectively addressing humanitarian and environmental priorities.

Dilhan went on to talk of the uniqueness of tea in its health benefits and the potential for going beyond the traditional cuppa, exploring the luxury of terroir in tea with tea gastronomy and mixology and the use of tea as an ingredient. At a later session of Feeding the Planet, Dilhan presented Dilmah Conservation's work on bio char as a potentially important solution given the need for greater sustainability and efficiency in agriculture.
Robert Schinkel, Dilmah Tea Sommelier, presented a session on Tea Mixology. He traced the history of mixology and shared the principles of combining tea with different cocktails and mocktails, conluding with a spectacular demonstration of the Dilmah Blue Blazer.

A Dilmah Tea Appreciation for the Young Chefs at the event was presented. Dilhan explained how tea is grown, and talked of terroir, natural antioxidants and tea gastronomy. The session included a demonstration of tea pairing with nougat handmade by a Dutch Patissiere.

Dilmah will continue its co-operation with Chefs around the world, to share the luxury and goodness in tea with Chefs and future Chefs whilst also developing Dilmah tea gastronomy and tea mixology. The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge is endorsed by the World Association of Chefs Societies, and will have its Global Final in Colombo in 2015.