Following a steady decline in the numbers and quality of entries to the point where the Professional Culinary Exhibits section of the Agricultural Exhibition was in danger of extinction, Director of Agriculture, Fisheries & Parks Mr. John Barnes decided to take a hard look at ways to improve the situation.

Following meetings with members of the Professional Chefs Association, more categories have been added to this year's catalogue to make competition broader and fairer.

"We don't just have Class 1 for everybody to enter,'' Mr. Barnes explained.

"We now have 12 classes, each of which is divided into four competitor parts: 1. Large hotels. 2. Small properties. 3. Restaurant groups (including catering companies and private chefs). 4. Students from Stonington College.

"Entrants will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in each division, which means that there is a possibility of 140 medals to be won, as opposed to 48 in previous years.'' The changes will mean that chefs from small, lower-budget establishments and the Bermuda College will not have to compete unfairly with large, big-budget hotels for the same prizes. They will also mean that less experienced chefs are not competing with highly trained professionals commonly found in the biggest establishments.

"We are very gratified by the assistance the Chefs Association has given us,'' Mr. Barnes said, "and we like to think that, as a result of the changes, the professional culinary section of the Exhibition will be restored to its former glory.'' Beyond the aim of improving the Agricultural Exhibition, the Professional Chefs Association hopes the changes will ultimately lead to formation of a professional chefs' team to represent Bermuda in a major Caribbean culinary competition.

"Our Association has been invited to enter for the past two years but we didn't think we were strong enough, and it is also a lot of work and very costly,'' vice-president of the Bermuda Chefs Association, Mr. Helmut Koban, said. "Bermuda is one of the few islands not competing.'' Meanwhile, for the first time, Exhibition organisers are bringing in three professional judges instead of two to determine the culinary winners. They have been selected based on recommendations from the Bermuda Chefs Association.

"The judges will be Mr. Ferdinand Metz, president of the Culinary Institute of America; Mr. Roger Fassaguet of the Societe m Culinaire Philanthropique; and Mr. Gerard Breissan, director of Classical Cuisine of France,'' Mr. Barnes revealed.

Judges of this standard were important to professional chefs.

"The man in the street doesn't realise that professional chefs move up in their field by winning awards,'' he added.