By Patrick Titus, Uyo
Top chefs from 12 counties including Nigeria will converge on Abuja for the 11th International Culinary Summit tagged: Abuja 2026, billed for next month, June 6th – 13th, organized by the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria (APCN) in Abuja.
Among the expected countries are Togo and Ghana. Different traditional cuisines showcasing each country’s cultural heritage will be on display for lovers of quality food.
Akwa Ibom State Chapter Coordinator of APCN, Chef Idara Emmanuel Okon disclosed this last week during the meeting of the Association tagged: “Home-Coming Party” in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital city.
Chef Okon said the summit which will have as its theme: “Empowering the Creative Economy and Tourism Growth”, is expected to provide a platform for participants to brainstorm on food safety measures, share and compare notes on promoting and sustaining quality foods to ensuring a healthy nation and the world at large.
The APCN State Coordinator said that the state chapter of the association would, at the Summit, take Akwa Ibom to the world through presentations of “our local dishes like Ekpangkukwu, Afere afang, Asa iwa, Afia Afere ebod among others to food lovers from the participating countries.”
She explained that the APCN is an association that unites chefs together globally. The essence, she added, is to “bring in educative measures that help to put them on a limelight internationally, besides promoting our cultural heritage and tourism through our local cuisines.
“Create a contact point for our chefs and employers (hoteliers) to ensure that good and quality foods are served to guests at all times because good food build a healthy Nation.”
Our Correspondent observed that the Home-Coming Party, was the inaugural meeting of the newly-elected executive committee of the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of APCN under the leadership of Chef Idara Emmanuel Okon as state Coordinator.
On her vision for the association, Chef Okon said, “I want to leave a footprint that cheffery, as a profession, is taken to a very high level. I want to see that chefs are treated with respect because the profession is likened to doctors because we also handle people’s life.”
She called for support from members of the association to enable her achieve her vision for the benefit of all
Chef Idara Emmanuel Okon is a food scientist. She owns IDY-JAY Kitchen Culinary School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
