(10 Photos) U.S. Cheese Wows Attendees at Singapore's World Gourmet Summit

Activities elevate U.S. cheese awareness and heritage among Southeast Asian consumers and influencers.

SINGAPORE --The World Gourmet Summit (WGS) is an annual celebration of the art of preparing, serving and savoring food and drink. 

From April 1 to May 12, chefs, restaurateurs, food and beverage buyers/distributors, media and consumers from across Southeast Asia came to Singapore for a series of culinary events—ranging from tastings to special dinners to cooking contests to educational lectures.

As the official dairy partner for the event, the U.S. Dairy Export Council engineered a series of activities that elevated the visibility of U.S. cheese and educated attendees about U.S. craftsmanship, variety, versatility and innovation potential.

The goal: drive U.S. cheese demand by building U.S. cheese awareness and heritage among chefs and the culinary sector. 

USDEC’s participation (this is the second consecutive year as official dairy partner for WGS) seeks to support Southeast Asia’s growing appetite for cheese and build on the United States expanding footprint in the region.

U.S. cheese sales to Southeast Asia have nearly doubled over the past two years, rising from 10,867 metric tons in 2016 to 19,077 metric tons in 2018. Through the first two months of 2019, volume is up another 34 percent.

What follows are photos from a cross section of WGS events that took place—including the opening reception, a U.S. Cheese Masterclass for top chefs in the region and a gourmet brunch featuring U.S. cheese sampling. Through these types of activities and a range of additional USDEC initiatives in the Southeast Asia, we aim to keep trade numbers to Southeast Asia growing.
 Nine hundred culinary sector representatives attended the opening reception, many of whom sampled a U.S. cheese feast.

The opening reception elevated the visibility of U.S. cheese and educated food professionals and consumers about U.S. cheese craftsmanship, variety, versatility and innovation potential.

Thank you chef Vindex Tengker for bringing passion and creativity to these events.

USDEC Southeast Asia representative Dalilah Ghazalay names the winner of the Innovative Chef Competition in which five acclaimed chefs were tasked with creating an innovative dish pairing U.S. monterey jack and chipotle cheddar with more traditional ingredients and elevating the cheese to be the star of the entree.  

Millar Mai, head chef of modern Southeast Asian restaurant Ding Dong, won for his Lobster Tail Roulade Stuffed with U.S. Chipotle Cheddar Seafood Mousseline and U.S. Monterey Jack Glaze (shown below).

Shaun O'Neale, winner of MasterChef U.S. Season 7, showcased U.S. cheese in culinary demonstrations, a wine pairing and a chef luncheon. He demonstrated how U.S. cheese could be used to bring bold flavors to life in edgy culinary innovations.

The wine and cheese pairings met with the approval of chefs in attendance. 

A display at the U.S. Cheese Masterclass reminded participants of the wide variety of cheese available from the United States.

USDEC Southeast Asia representative Dalilah Ghazalay, center, is flanked by chefs Shaun O'Neale and Vindex Tengker, along with representatives of export and food companies in Southeast Asia.

Dalilah Ghazalay is a Southeast Asia representative for the U.S. Dairy Export Council. 

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.