Emnotweni Casino and Riverside Mall will help host and sponsor the Bidvest World Chefs Tour Against Hunger (Bidvest WCTAH) when it comes to Nelspruit in August, and are lobbying other local businesses to get behind the campaign as well.

“We encourage local people and businesses to support this worthwhile campaign so that we can extend the Bidvest WCTAH to charities on our own doorstep. Our goal for the Nelspruit event is to raise at least R500 000 for needy charities in our community,” says Emnotweni Casino’s General Manager, Ig Olivier. 

From 21 to 30 August, 200 chefs from over 30 countries will descend on South Africa to raise funds and awareness for the plight of the hungry as part of the Bidvest World Chefs Tour Against Hunger.  Some may not speak English, most have never set foot on African soil, but all share a passion for alleviating the suffering of the underprivileged. The World Chefs Tour Against Hunger is supported by Bidvest, who has donated R3.6 million to the cause, and Southern Sun, who is providing all the accommodation for the 200+ visiting chefs. 

This will be the third WCTAH, previously known as the World Cooks Tour for Hunger. The first, which took place in 1993, raised R500 000 for hunger alleviation in South Africa. The follow-up tour in 2003 raised R2-million for local charities, and the goal for this year is to top that and raise over R5-million.

The Bidvest WCTAH will be at Emnotweni Casino and Riverside Mall from Thursday the 25th of August until Sunday the 28th of August, doubling-up as the crescendo to the FEAST Food Festival which kicks off at the beginning of the month. During their visit to Nelspruit, top international chefs from the USA, Romania, Iceland, Israel and Saudi Arabia will host dynamic cooking demos at Emnotweni Casino’s newly-refurbished Explorers Restaurant and Riverside Mall’s Food Court. They will also host a whisky tasting and auction in the mall, and visit some of the local charities selected to benefit from the tour.

During the Bidvest WCTAH, there will be no a-la-carte offering at Explorers Restaurant at Emnotweni Casino.  Instead, there will be set menus featuring some of the meals cooked by the chefs during their demonstrations.  A portion of the meal price will go towards the fundraiser.

In addition to hosting the event and their other sponsorship commitments, the casino and mall are on a concerted drive to garner support from other companies. As an incentive to support the worthwhile campaign, the entities are offering free advertising on the Casino’s massive Jackpot Entertainment screens as well as their websites to contributing companies. Contributing companies’ logos and pictures will be displayed on these channels. Short profiles on each contributing company will also be published on a dedicated WCTAH page on Emnotweni Casino’s website. 
Companies can contribute to the campaign in a number of ways:

•  Book a table at one of the Nelspruit Bidvest WCTAH Food Festival at the Emnotweni Sun Hotel from , where you will get to sample the speciality dishes and culinary heritage from exotic and faraway locations, including Romania, Iceland and USA.  Whether you’re booking for a romantic dinner for two or client entertainment for a larger party, the international flavour of the Food Festivals is the way to impress your guests this winter.  Tables can be booked directly with the Emnotweni Sun Hotel on +27 13 757 3000.
• Purchase Bidvest WCTAH-branded chef hats for R10 and aprons for customers and staff, the proceeds of which will go to the campaign.  Companies ordering over 2 000 hats can have their company logo printed alongside the WCTAH and sponsor logos.
• Donate a portion of sales during the months preceding this event towards the Bidvest WCTAH. Some of Riverside Mall’s tenants have already committed to supporting the initiative in this way.
• Help sponsor “in kind” by providing for the operational requirements of the event such as food, beverages, printing and audio-visual equipment. They can contact Roger Lutchmiah at Emnotweni Casino for this purpose.

There is also a fun way to get involved.
Companies can buy into a cook-off competition with one of the chefs at R2 000 for 45 minutes and compete against other companies. VIP tables (consisting of media and sponsors) will judge the best meal. Certificates will be issued to participants and winners.

Members of the public can also contribute by downloading the 1993 hit song from the last World Chefs Tour Against Hunger, which raised R1,3 million. PJ Powers has re-recorded her heart-wrenching Sing Children Sing, which is downloadable to your cell phone for just R10.

“This is really an exceptional initiative that has been highly successful in the past. We are really honoured to be able to play host to the event and give legs to the campaign here in Nelspruit. We hope that local people and businesses will also support the project and help the tour exceed its fundraising goals for 2011. The great thing about this project is that we’ll have tremendous fun while making a meaningful contribution to the disadvantaged people in our community,” urges Olivier.

For more information abut the Bidvest WCTAH, visit www.worldchefstour.co.za.
For more information about contributing to or sponsoring the local event or book a table, please contact Marina Coetzee on 013 757 4300 or visit www.emnotweni.co.za