17 July 2014
Kiwi Murray Dick Appointed as a Director of Worldchefs
New Zealander Murray Dick has been appointed Continental Director – Pacific Rim for the World Association of Chefs
Societies (Worldchefs) at the recent Worldchefs Congress in Stavanger, Norway.
Murray is a past President and Life Member of the New Zealand Chefs Association as well as a life member of Worldchefs;
an honour bestowed upon him after assuming the duties of the Worldchefs Congress Director when Worldchefs held their
2006 Congress in Auckland.
The appointment of Continental Director for the Pacific Rim is both an honour and a challenge, says Murray. “The Pacific
Rim is a melting pot of cuisine styles and because it is so vast an area it will always be a logistical challenge to
meet the needs of all the participating islands and countries.
“Our region relies on tourism as one of its major income resources and hospitality plays a critical part of that.
Worldchefs has many programmes that can be adopted to enhance relationships between different countries and encourage
development to enhance the area’s capabilities. These include inter-country culinary competitions, student exchanges,
training the trainers, lectures, demonstration chefs and much more.”
Anita Sarginson, President of New Zealand Chefs’ Association, congratulated Murray on the appointment and says he is
ideal person for the role. “Murray has a proven track record within the New Zealand Chefs Association and Worldchefs as
well as a strong desire and the right commitment to make change and develop the area to help everyone involved in our
industry.”
A Continental Director is an important support role, says Murray. “The Director acts as a conduit for information, but
it also gives the entire Pacific Region a voice on the world stage. I am very pleased to have been appointed to this
role and look forward to working with the country presidents and their respective executives in our region to grow and
develop the Pacific Rim and show the rest of the world what we have to offer.”
Murray replaces Australian Glenn Austin as Pacific Rim Director. The Pacific Rim encompasses the following full members:
Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Cook Islands, plus New Caledonia and Tahiti which are in the process
of becoming members. Prior to this role, as well as being a chef, Murray was operations manager for the Maritime Museum
and previously North Harbour Stadium. He lives in Auckland.
The New Zealand Chefs Association Inc.
The New Zealand Chefs Association Inc. is the “National Association” representing professional chefs, cooks and
trainees, patissiers and confectioners in New Zealand. It was originally founded in 1957 by two Auckland chefs - Sid
Young and Jim Allan – to bring chefs together, to encourage interest in the culinary arts and sciences, to promote and
advance the interests of all New Zealand chefs, cooks, patissiers and confectioners and to protect and develop a high
standard of performance in their professions. The Association is the voice of professional chefs in New Zealand and
represents New Zealand at Worldchefs (the World Association of Chefs’ Societies).
Worldchefs
The World Association of Chefs' Societies, or Worldchefs in short, is a global network of chefs associations first
founded in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris. At that first congress there were 65 delegates from 17 countries,
representing 36 national and international associations. Today, this global body has 100 official chefs associations as
members representing more than 10 million professional chefs worldwide. The biennial congress is a hallmark tradition of
Worldchefs and has been organised in over 20 cities across the world. Worldchefs is managed by an elected presidential
body consisting of the Worldchefs president, vice president, treasurer, secretary general and ambassador honorary
president, as well as a board of Continental directors that look after the regions of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific
and the Americas. Worldchefs is a non-political professional organization, dedicated to maintaining and improving the
culinary standards of global cuisines. It accomplishes this through education, training and professional development. As
an authority and opinion leader on food, Worldchefs represents a global voice on all issues related to the culinary
profession.
ENDS