History
Conceived by a group of German chefs in 1896 with an aim to promote German cuisine to the world while receiving impulses from other cooking cultures, the first competition was arranged in 1900 in Frankfurt with four nations participating. Initially named the International Verband Koche Deutschland, it became subject to Hitler's ban of all international societies during World War II. Every event took place in Frankfurt until 1996 when it was moved to Berlin. Since 2000 it has been staged at Erfurt.
The 2008 event involved 54 nations with 1,600 participating chefs, with Norway coming in first place, Germany placing second and Switzerland in third. Commenting on the winning team, Canadian team manager Jane Ruddick claimed that Norway's win was due to the nation's financial support, stating, "Norway spends a tremendous amount of money developing the chefs to participate in these competitions. They take them out of their jobs to train them. Our chefs are doing it on their own time. It's not an equal playing field from that point of view."
Read more about this topic: International Exhibition Of Culinary Art
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