Determined to inspire local talent and pass on Macau’s unique culinary culture in an innovative way, MGM recently hosted the first "Employee Culinary Contest" at Vista of MGM COTAI. Team members presented their extraordinary creativity and talent during the grand final contest to a panel of judges, formed by government representatives, prominent master chefs from Hong Kong and Macau, as well as management team members of MGM. While supporting Macau to strengthen its position as the "Creative City of Gastronomy", the Contest is also held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau SAR. Champions of the contest will be visiting a local elderly home with MGM Golden Lion Volunteer Team next month and serving their winning dishes to the senior citizens.

This contest brought together 120 non-culinary full-time team members from Macau, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Nepal and Taiwan to compete in the Cantonese Cuisine and International Cuisines categories. The aim of the Contest is to promote different food cultures through a set of fun competitions, to encourage team members to learn from each other's cooking techniques while stimulating their creative minds, and to discover their talent and interests outside of their daily lives.

After several rounds of fierce competitions, the 20 finalists were selected in both Cuisine categories to the grand final. Guests of Honors, including Ms. Ines Chan, Acting Deputy Director of Macau Government Tourism Office; Ms. Chan Ioc Sut, Head of Research and Investigation Department of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau; Mr. Leong Ngan, President of Macau Iam Sek Ip Kong Vui Association; Mr. William Ma, Chairman of Hong Kong Chinese Chefs Association; Mr. Eddy Leung, Vice President of the Hong Kong Chefs Association; Mr. Lou Chi Seng, Recipient of the Tourist Merit Medal; Mr. Grant Bowie, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited; Ms. Wendy Yu, Senior Vice President of Human Resources; Chef. Geoffrey Simmons, Director of Culinary; and Chef Chow Wai Chong, Consultant of Chinese Kitchen from MGM, were invited as judges for the final cook-offs.

After rounds of fierce competitions, Xiaomei Huang from Rooms and Yan Chan from Cage stood out from the crowd with their excellent cooking skills and won Champions of Cantonese and International Cuisines respectively.

Mr. Grant Bowie, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, said, “At MGM, we encourage our team members to have work-life balance, and support them to explore their interests outside of work. The contest has provided a platform for members who are passionate about cooking to showcase their talent, where I could totally feel the joy of the contestants during the contest. It also enhanced communications and interactions between departments, making our team more united.”

Yan Chan, the Champion of International Cuisine and the winner of Best Presentation Award, expressed her excitement, “I joined the competition because of the encouragement from my manager, who loves cooking as much as I do, as well to enjoy a fun event with my coworkers. Winning this competition and being recognized by the professional judges is completely out of my expectation, and I could not be more ecstatic now.”

Xiaomei Huang, Champion of Cantonese Cuisine, said, “It has been one fruitful contest to compete with so many talented coworkers. I cannot thank MGM enough for hosting such fun event for us culinary enthusiasts to showcase our cooking skills in front of a group of professional chefs, guests and other coworkers outside of our ordinary work.”

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About MGM

MGM is an abbreviation for MGM China Holdings Limited (HKEx: 2282) and is a leading developer, owner and operator of gaming and lodging resorts in the Greater China region. We are the holding company of MGM Grand Paradise, SA which holds one of the six gaming concessions/subconcessions to run casino games in Macau. MGM Grand Paradise, SA owns and operates MGM MACAU, the award-winning premium integrated resort located on the Macau Peninsula and MGM COTAI, a contemporary luxury integrated resort in Cotai, which opened in early 2018 and more than doubles our presence in Macau. 

MGM MACAU is a Forbes Five-Star luxury integrated resort inspired by the arts with every element of the resort infused with creativity and style. MGM MACAU has approximately 600 guest rooms and suites and boasts a number of distinguishing features, including the architecturally stunning European-inspired Grande Praça, housed under a soaring glass ceiling. MGM MACAU’s world class facilities include the MGM Art Space, dedicating over 5,000 square feet to display authentic works of art, conference and event facilities, spa, and seven signature restaurants and bars to fulfill any gastronomic craving. Our property is conveniently located on the Macau Peninsula and is directly connected to the luxury retail shopping complex, One Central.

MGM COTAI is the latest integrated resort of MGM in China. Designed as the “jewelry box” of Cotai, it offers approximately 1,400 hotel rooms and suites, Asia’s first dynamic theater, meeting space, high end spa, retail offerings and food and beverage outlets as well as the first international Mansion at MGM for the ultimate luxury experience. The Spectacle at MGM COTAI becomes the record holder of the largest free-span gridshell glazed roof (self-supporting) on January 19, 2019, making it the first architectural and structural GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for Macau, China. MGM COTAI is being developed to drive greater product diversification and bring more advanced and innovative forms of entertainment to Macau as it grows as a global tourist destination. MGM COTAI is the largest property and the first mega-size complex project in Macau to achieve the China Green Building Design Label Three-Star Certification.

MGM China Holdings Limited is majority owned by MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), one of the world's leading global hospitality companies, operating a portfolio of destination resort brands including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage. 

For media enquiries, please contact:    

Jessie Kuan

Director of Public Relations

MGM

Tel: (853) 8806 3412

Email: jessiekuan@mgm.mo

Karen Lam

Public Relations Manager

MGM

Tel: (853) 8806 3421

Email: karenlam@mgm.mo