The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) ran a mammoth 24 hour kitchen operation for the 20th Investing in African Mining Indaba conference that was held at the centre from 3 – 6 February 2014.
According to CTICC General Manager for Operations, Aage Hansen, 130 chefs had to be specially brought in to assist to cater to the more than 8000 delegates that attended this conference. “For this event the centre operated over three independent food and beverage outlets in addition to its normal catering”, said Hansen. This included servicing an outlet that was constructed on the CTICC Water Canal. Over 8 500 pastries had to be baked daily and the centre had to run a 24 hour kitchen operation, which kicked off two days prior to the event. “Our chefs worked around the clock for 6 days straight to ensure that delegates culinary needs were catered to”, he added.
As a Level 2 BBBEE contributor the centre is committed to contributing to a sustainable economy. “The large quantities of produce procured for this event were all sourced from small business enterprises. This included the centre’s community partner, Abalimi Bezekhaya which supplied a portion of the 600 kilograms of vegetables ordered”, added Hansen. Over 2500 kilograms of chicken thighs, 800 kilograms of fillet beef, 700 kilograms of chicken breasts and 600 litres of cream were also procured.
“In order to reduce the centre’s food waste to landfill component all vegetables were ordered peeled and prepared. The centre also recycled 100% of its food waste for this event”, said Hansen.
This is the 11th consecutive year that the centre hosted this event. “The Investing in African Mining Indaba is a key driver of economic growth in the province and last year’s conference resulted in an economic spinoff for the region of just over R 111 million and contributed to the creation of over 700 direct and indirect jobs in South Africa”, concluded Hansen.
