It was a flood of chefs’ whites and hats, and a waterfall of bodies down the Spanish Steps leading to Centre Court at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, at the media launch of this year’s Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) on 13 September.

As the ribbon running down the backdrop was pulled by MIGF Organising Chairman Dato’ Steve Day and Guest of Honour Dato’ Dr Ong Hong Peng, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Tourism, it was the cue for some 150 students from BERJAYA University College of Hospitality, as well as chefs from MIGF’s 28 participating restaurants, to flow in down the steps and from alleys surrounding Centre Court to form rows of chefs in front of the stage. Then, to the thumping beat of The Weather Girls’ It’s Raining Men, the masses broke out their dance moves, with black, white and red MIGF umbrellas as props, to the delight of the gathered audience, guests and media.

It was indeed a torrent of culinary personnel, in line with the theme of MIGF 2011, “It’s Raining Chefs!” And as the song ended, the MIGF Master Chefs presented with a flourish the signature dishes that are part of their specially created Festival Menus.

The fun nature of the launch mirrored the playful theme for the 11th edition of MIGF, which is part of the appeal of the Festival. In his speech, Dato’ Steve said when MIGF started in 2001, Malaysia could boast of only a handful of fine-dining restaurants, while the people were only interested in street food. “Fine dining was seen as stuffy, pretentious and above all, expensive. It was clear to us that if we were to grow the fine-dining population, we would have to change these perceptions and make fine dining fun and accessible to as many people as possible,” he said.

“The formula we came up with, of set Festival Menus at special low-cost Festival prices for a full month, along with fun festival promotions and other activities, has been instrumental in getting hundreds of thousands of new local diners to try out fine dining and experience new types of cuisines for the first time."

“This set Festival menu formula has also made the whole experience a lot less intimidating for first-time diners. And of course, everyone loves a deal and during the Festival, some of these Menus are a real bargain,” he added. Indeed, with Festival meals starting at RM98 per person, and a sumptuous range of cuisines, from authentic North Indian, traditional Malay and contemporary Continental to modern Thai and classical Chinese, an exquisite fine-dining experience is not beyond the reach of ordinary Malaysians.

Dato’ Steve also highlighted the benefits MIGF brings to the participating restaurants, the food and beverage industry as a whole and the country’s tourism scene. He said MIGF’s biggest accomplishment was giving voice to Malaysia’s fine-dining industry. “No restaurant on its own can really make itself heard, but by working together and promoting a collective product, we have a powerful voice both locally and internationally – and everyone in the industry benefits.”

And this helps promote Malaysia in the eyes of the world. “It is the fact that we have more locals interested in fine dining that has created the solid customer base for the entire industry to grow upon. It is only when our restaurants are doing well with steady business that they become important assets for attracting high-yield tourists and MICE delegates,” Dato’ Steve said.

This message was also highlighted in the speech by Dato’ Dr Ong, who was representing Tourism Minister Dato’ Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen. Stating the importance of fine dining to the country’s multi-billion-dollar food and beverage industry, he said MIGF played a pivotal role in the ministry’s long-term Fabulous Food 1Malaysia strategy.

“Though Malaysia’s wonderful street food is famous, we need to be known for our fine dining, too. This is vital for attracting high-yield tourists, MICE delegates and well-heeled business travellers. These discerning visitors demand the best – and they don’t mind paying more for the extra comfort of a top-quality restaurant with excellent service and, above all, good hygiene,” Dato’ Dr Ong said.

“In fact, for many affluent visitors, just knowing that Malaysia can offer a wide variety of both local and international cuisines in top restaurants is a key deciding factor when many of them choose Malaysia as a holiday or MICE destination – not just during the Festival month but all-year-round too.”

He cited as key points the fact that MIGF had generated more than RM100 million worth of accountable worldwide publicity for Malaysia since it started in 2001, while last year, the publicity added up to RM15 million, thanks to the reach of a global audience of 423.35 million via Festival media partners, coverage by other media and 95 million page views in three months on more than 60 interactive websites around the world.

The participating restaurants, meanwhile, raked in RM15.4 million in revenue throughout the 2010 Festival month, and also enjoyed annual receipts worth more than RM150 million as they continue to leverage off their MIGF association in their all-year-round marketing activities, Dato’ Dr Ong said.

All this, he said, raised Malaysia’s service standards, created an extensive international choice of cuisines, and gave widespread recognition to the country’s top chefs and restaurants.

At the launch, Dato’ Steve and Dato’ Dr Ong also unveiled the billboard for MIGF, as well as one for Epicure Malaysia, the Festival’s fringe lifestyle expo happening on 16-18 September at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

Dato’ Steve also mentioned in thanks supporters of MIGF and attendees, who included Tourism Malaysia Chairman Dato’ Dr Victor Wee; Festival Advisory Committee members YAM Tunku Dara Tunku Tan Sri Naquiah Tuanku Ja’afar, Dato’ Sri Azim Zabidi, Dato’ Farah Khan, Datuk Mike Krishnan, Che Puan Winnie Sophia Low, Jeffrey Perera and Johari Abbas; Paul Ho, Senior Executive Director of FUJIFILM Malaysia, the Festival’s Imaging Partner; and Soren Ravn, Managing Director of Carlsberg, which is bringing its Kronenbourg 1664 to the Festival. Also mentioned were event organiser AsiaReach Events, headed by Datin Su Wai Fun; Official Media Partners Asian Food Channel, Astro, Lite FM, Vision Four, Vision KL and Seni Jaya; Venue Sponsors Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa and Sunway Lagoon; Style Rocks Event Partner Melium Group; Epicure Malaysia Partner Maxis; BERJAYA University College of Hospitality; Pavilion Kuala Lumpur; Dome Café; Al-Amar Lebanese Restaurant, the venue for the press conference that followed the launch; and SMK Cochrane, for the brass band that kept the mood upbeat and heralded the arrival of the VIPs.