(November/December 2011 Red Sea Bulletin magazine) 

The Egyptian Chefs Association is growing and under the leadership of Chef Essam Sayed, Executive Chef of the Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort. The Association has now opened the Red Sea Chefs Chapter — the first ECA chapter outside of Cairo. The ECA office in Hurghada aims to better serve the Association’s members in the Red Sea region by conducting more training workshops and chef’s competitions in the area.

The opening was celebrated on Sunday, 25 September, with a lavish Cocktail Reception at The Island of the Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort under the starry sky. In attendance were Ahmed El Nahas, Chairman of the Egyptian Chefs Association; Chef Markus J. Iten, President of the ECA; Mirjam van IJssel, Executive Director of ECA; along with Chef Essam Sayed, Chairman of the Red Sea Chefs Chapter; and the host Essam El Garf, General Manager of the Hurghada Marriot Beach Resort. With a bevy of hospitality luminaries from El Gouna to Marsa Alam, many members and friends came out to get acquainted and network among their pals.

The ECA wishes to thank all who made the event possible, including all the hotels that generously contributed to the success of the opening, such as the Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort, Hilton Hurghada Plaza, Hilton Resort, Sheraton Miramar El Gouna, Sheraton Soma Bay, Iberotel Aqua Marine Hotel, Movenpick El Quseir, Continental Hotel, Residence des Cascades, Robinson Club Soma Bay, and InterContinental Soma Bay, among others. The ECA also wishes to thank the following suppliers who contributed food and beverages such as AM Foods, Al Watania Poultry, Four Seas Company, Wadi Food, Egypt Bakery Stores & Ramsis Fresh.