Every year on October 20, its professional holiday – Chef’s day – chefs and culinary experts from all over the world celebrate.
International Date was established in 2004 at the initiative of the World Association of Culinary Communities. This organization, by the way, has 8 million members – representatives of the cooking profession from different countries. Therefore, it is not surprising that professionals have found their holiday.
Celebration International chefs day (International Chefs Day) in more than 70 countries has become large-scale. In addition to the culinary specialists themselves, representatives of the authorities, employees of travel companies and, of course, the owners of catering establishments, from small cafes to famous restaurants, take part in organizing festive events. They organize chefs’ skill contests, conduct tastings and experiment with the preparation of original dishes.
In a number of countries, no less attention is paid to events in which children and young people participate. Chefs visit children’s educational institutions, where they teach children how to cook and explain the importance of healthy eating. Young people can learn more about the profession of a chef and receive valuable lessons in the art of cooking.
The profession of a cook is one of the most demanded in the world and one of the most ancient. History, of course, is silent about who first came up with the idea of cooking meat from game or plants collected in the forest. But there is a legend about a woman whose name gave the name to the entire industry – cooking.
The ancient Greeks revered the god of healing Asclepius (aka the Roman Aesculapius). His daughter Hygeya was considered the guardian of health (by the way, the word “hygiene” originated from her name). And their faithful assistant in all matters was the cook Kulina, who began to patronize the art of cooking, which was called “cooking”.
The first ones, written on paper, appeared in Babylon, Ancient Egypt and Ancient China, as well as in the countries of the Arab East. Some of them have come down to us in written monuments of that era, and if desired, anyone can try to cook dishes that the Egyptian pharaoh or the emperor of the Celestial Empire ate.
In Russia, cooking as a science began to develop in the 18th century. This was due to the proliferation of catering establishments. At first these were taverns, then taverns and restaurants. The first culinary kitchen in Russia was opened in 1888 in St. Petersburg.