WelTec Media Release
18 May 2005
WelTec on World Stage
WelTec tutor, Stephen Pope, has been selected as an international judge at the 38th prestigious WorldSkills competition
in Helenski in the cooking and culinary arts section.
Competitors and expert judges from over 40 countries around the world will meet in Helenski, Sweden from 26-29 May.
WorldSkills is the biggest skills competition in the world, allowing over 700 young people to test their vocational
skills against international standards across a range of trades and service vocations.
This is the fourth time Stephen has been chosen to judge at the competition. However, his international connections do
not end there. Last year, Stephen was instrumental in bringing the Gordon Ramsay Scholar Award to New Zealand, a
competition for upcoming young chefs that was hosted by WelTec. This was first time the competition has been held
outside of the UK and is set to become an annual event.
Stephen has been a Chef Judge for competitions in New Zealand, Australia and Canada and most recently for the
prestigious CESSA Institution in Mexico City. This Mexican visit was at the request of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
and the New Zealand Embassy in Mexico City.
“I’m delighted to be part of the WorldSkills team again; it is quite an honour and a responsibility. Although I will be
a judge it is also an opportunity for me to learn and discover new ideas and ways of doing things in our industry to
bring back to my own students at WelTec,” says Stephen.
Mr Pope departs for Helenski on 18 May 2005 and returns in time to get ready for WelTec’s Semester Two intake in July.
ENDS