A team from Sodexo has won four gold and three silver medals at the pan-Cyprian culinary competition, Gastronomia HORECA, one of the largest gastronomy festivals in the Mediterranean.

The Gastronomia festival is held every two years and is endorsed by the WACS (World Association Chefs Society). It is organised by the Cyprus Chefs’ Association and is supported by the Ministry of Tourism. The festival gives Cypriot and foreign professionals the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in culinary skills and equipment. 

The festival competition also recognises the professionals who will represent the C.C.A. and Cyprus in various international festivals and cooking competitions.  It is open to the public, allowing anyone with an interest in quality cuisine and good food to meet the professional chefs, members of the C.C.A. and others who seek to raise the profile of Cyprus within the culinary world.

Sodexo has managed services including catering, cleaning, waste services and logistics support at six bases in Cyprus where British troops and their families are deployed since 2007.  

Sodexo entered a team of ten chefs who competed in seven of the categories. The team prepared for the competition under the expert guidance of Andreas Ioannou (food service manager) and Nicos Papanicolaou (head chef at the Officers’ Mess, Akrotiri).

Gold medals were given to:

•    Panayiotis Georgiou and Despo Christodoulou in the ‘risotto appetizer and pork main course’ category. 
•    Simos Antoniou and Vrionis Chrysostomou, in the ‘chicken and fish main course’ category.
•    Fotis Fotiou was awarded two golds in the ‘live vegetable carving’ and ‘bread work’ categories. 

Silver medals went to:

•    Michalis Petevinos in the ‘bread work’ category. 
•    Charalampos Meliou and Marios Neocleous in the ‘two restaurant appetisers’ category.
•    Paniccos Panayiotou and Fotis Fotiou in the ‘two-course modern Cypriot menu’ category.

Paul Anstey, CEO Government & Agencies, Sodexo UK & Ireland commented:

Congratulations to our talented team in Cyprus for their huge success at this year’s Gastronomia.  Winning these awards and taking part in the judging panel is a fantastic recognition of the talented team that we have out in Cyprus, where we’ve worked to provide a diverse range of services to enhance the quality of life of our service personnel since 2007. 

Sodexo was also represented in the judging panel with Petros Gavriel (executive chef) the ‘President of the judges’ and Andreas Ioannou, Nicos Papanicolaou and Andreas Vouzounis (head chef, Officers’ Mess, Episkopi) as members of the judging team.

sodexo chefs competing

Back to the list