Hotel and catering industry employees awarded in Gold Pin competition

The 2016 Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS) Gold Pin Competition Award Presentation Ceremony was held yesterday at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT).

Helena de Senna Fernandes, the director of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO), presented the awards.

This year, there were 10 competitions and 281 participants from 33 organizations. The categories included Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen), Bartender, and Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate level).

The final round of the competition was held on November 28 and 30 at IFT and at Grand Lisboa Hotel. The competition ran on a process of elimination, with three rounds per section. Contestants had to secure one of the two winning positions in each section to qualify for the next round. Juries formed by more than 30 respected executives from the industry observed and assessed the contestants until the final winners were revealed.

For the Assistant Cook category, contestants were given a black box of assorted ingredients and another with general ingredients. They then had two hours to produce a soup and a main course based off the ingredients.

For the Bartender category, the contestants had to set up a functioning theme bar based on a movie character or a celebrity, and then create a cocktail for two people using their own bar.

Winners received a MORS Gold Pin and a MOP8,000 cash award.

21 cooks, bartenders, concierges, bell attendants, waiters and waitresses, among other employees from several local casinos and restaurants, including Le Lapin Restaurant and the Altira Macau, were awarded Gold Pins.   

The Gold Pin Competition was first held in the early 2000s. Organized by IFT, the contest celebrates outstanding MORS professionals.

IFT president Fanny Wong told the Times that 9,663 tourism and hotel industry employees from across 17 occupations have obtained the certificate since MORS was first implemented.

In 2009, one occupational school in Zhuhai introduced MORS. More than 2,000 students have since participated in the MORS evaluation.

lights dimmed during light festival

Helena de Senna Fernandes, on the sidelines of yesterday’s ceremony, said that the authorities in charge of the event have dimmed the brightness of this year’s Light Festival so as to create less light pollution.

The director said that the decision was made after MGTO consulted the Environment Protection Bureau (DSPA).

Nevertheless, Senna Fernandes said that MGTO is thinking about brightening up some of the dimmer lights.

“Since we had heard some suggestions last year regarding the light pollution that the light festival would cause, we have done a few changes this time,” she explained. Julie Zhu