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Ghana has been invited to showcase the country’s cocoa and chocolate recipes at the Seventh Moroccan Chefs culnery contest and exhibition which opens in Casablanca today.

The four-day event forms part of a special graduation and promotion of top chefs in Morrocco and will also see Ghana serving as one of the judges at the contest.

The National Secretary of the Ghana Chefs Association, Mr Nutepe Katey Attipoe told the Times in an interview that the invitation followed the successful organisation of the national chocolate day celebrations last month which impressed the Moroccan delegation which attended the board meeting of the African Chefs Union in Accra.

According to him, the display of Ghana’s natural cocoa products and other local dishes from the Cocoa Processing Company gingered the Moroccan delegation to invite the Ghana Chefs Association and the producers of the cocoa to exhibit the products at the serve time service as a judge at the culnery contest.

Mr. Attipoe indicated that the exhibition would open up the country’s cocoa industry to the outside world since most chocolate consuming countries have not seen cocoa in its natural form before.

“The exhibition, the first to be extended to the country would serve as a springboard for the cocoa processing company to take its production to higher levels” he said.

He stated that, the African Chefs Union delegates expected at the exhibition would be tasked to sample the various recipes at the stands after which recommendations would be made for the inclusion of Ghana Cocoa products in the gastronomy book for the continents.

Mr. Attipoe together with officials of the Cocoa Processing Company who are attending the festival explained that the exhibition and contest would enable Ghana to prepare adequately for next year’s food fair which coincided with the African Chefs Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held in Accra.

He noted that the Chefs from other member countries including Lesotho, Republic of Congo, Kenya and their West African counterparts would also use the occasion to deliberate on efforts to strictly enforce local diets in their hospitality industries.

“We have to use the occasion to speak with united union and insist on the use of local ingredients towards the creation of job opportunities for the youth as well as market for the local farmers, he said.