Ipoh’s inaugural International Waiter’s Race will be held on Saturday, May 25 in conjunction with the City’s 25th Anniversary. The event will be held at Taman D.R. Seenivasagam and is expected to attract participants from far and wide including from Ipoh’s sister cities, Fukuoka, Medan and Guangzhou. The race is jointly organised by Ipoh City Council, Perak Tourism Association, Malaysian Association of Hotels (Perak Chapter) and the International Waiters Race Agency, Ipoh.
Organising Chairman, Hj Mohd Odzman Abd Kadir, said the objective of the event was to give due recognition to waiters in the hospitality industry. Mayor Dato’ Roshidi Hashim, in his address, added that the race, being an international event, would be another tourist attraction for the City. Dato’ Mohd Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, Malaysia’s famous cartoonist from Perak, designed the cartoon character for the race giving it a distinctive Ipoh flavour.
The race, incidentally, originated from France over a century ago. Its aim was to test waiters’ skill and dexterity in balancing a tray of beverages on the palm of one hand while racing through the street. Participants had to finish with a full tray or close to it.
Over one hundred waiters and waitresses from Perak’s favourite eateries will be running the 1.5-km course in the park. They will be divided into three categories, Full Service, Quick Service and Amateurs, based upon their experiences. Related competitions such as ice-carving, flower-arrangement, food-carving and a barista competition in coffee decoration are in the offing.
For details or registration, visit www.ipohwaitersrace.org.
JAG
