By Joseph Kariuki

NINE chefs have qualified for the final cooking phase of the ‘Create and Cook’ competition.The chefs were selected from a total of 110 who entered the banana recipe cooking contest held at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

The finalists are expected to prepare dishes using 11 recipes where the top three chefs will be selected to prepare a special dish for the Presidential dinner slated for October 5, in Mombasa, Kenya.

The dinner is part of the World Banana Conference for corporate managers from different organizations from all over the world. Around 200 delegates are expected to attend the conference which is organized by Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development Programme (PIBID).

Commenting on the initiative, PIBID director, Dr. Florence Isabirye, said the initiative it is the biggest marketing drive for the value added matooke (banana) in the world.

“We believe there is a huge market locally and globally for value added matooke products,” she said.