World Gourmet Celebrates Malaysian Cuisine With Launch Of 8th World Top Gourmet Awards
This year, there’s a new award category for Malaysian food brands.
- World Gourmet launched its 8th World Top Gourmet Awards on 23 July in Kuala Lumpur, celebrating Malaysian cuisine and culture.
- A new Top Taste Award was introduced, spotlighting independent food and beverage products like local sauces, snacks, and artisanal creations.
- The awards are tied to Visit Malaysia Year 2026, aiming to promote Malaysian cuisine internationally and attract food-loving travellers and investors.
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World Gourmet, a Malaysian organisation that’s been celebrating great food and drinks since 2017, officially kicked off its 8th World Top Gourmet Awards on 23 July in Kuala Lumpur.
This year, they’re introducing the Top Taste Award. It’s a brand-new prize for independent food and beverage products, such as local sauces, snacks, drinks, heritage foods, health foods, and artisanal creations. It’s meant to give small food brands and entrepreneurs the same spotlight that chefs and restaurants usually get, judged on things like taste, quality, authenticity, and packaging.
The event was graced by Tuan Azmi Abdullah, Senior Deputy Director of the Package Development Division of Tourism Malaysia, and celebrity master chef Dr Martin Yan as guests of honour.
Dr Peggy Chong, the founder of World Gourmet, spoke about using food to showcase Malaysia’s culture to the world. The awards by World Gourmet are tied into Visit Malaysia Year 2026, aiming to promote Malaysian cuisine internationally and draw in food-loving travellers, chefs, and investors.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing between World Gourmet and iFood, an organiser of international food fairs, was a significant milestone to help boost trade and business opportunities.
Malaysia’s food culture is one of our nation’s greatest strengths. Through the World Top Gourmet Awards, we celebrate excellence while sharing our culinary heritage with the world. We are honoured to contribute to Visit Malaysia Year 2026 by attracting international chefs, industry leaders and visitors to experience Malaysia’s diverse cuisine, warm hospitality and vibrant food culture. At the same time, we create valuable opportunities for local businesses to gain international recognition and expand into global markets.
Dr Peggy Chong, President and Founder of World Gourmet
The event also witnessed the official appointment of Prof Dato Chef Zamzani Abdul Wahan, affectionately known as Chef Zam, as World Gourmet Ambassador 2026. As one of Malaysia’s most respected culinary ambassadors and educators, Chef Zam will champion Malaysian cuisine and represent World Gourmet in promoting culinary excellence, food heritage and cultural exchange on the international stage. To celebrate Malaysia’s rich culinary traditions, Chef Zam cooked up a live demo of Ketupat Sotong Terengganu, a traditional Terengganu dish.
Looking ahead, World Gourmet will be hosting two events this year:
- The 8th World Top Gourmet Awards Gala Dinner on 22 October at the Andaman Grand Ballroom, Kuala Lumpur.
- The 9th World Top Gourmet Awards Gala Dinner on 21 November 2026 at LN Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.
In an interview, Chef Martin Yan shared that presentation plays a key role in getting people to try new food. He believes that by elevating the presentation of Malaysia’s heritage and traditional dishes, more tourists, especially those who’ve never tried local cuisine before, will be encouraged to try it.
He also pointed out that before introducing a cuisine to a new market, it helps to first understand that country’s eating habits, dietary preferences, and lifestyle. He explained, for example, that not all countries have a daily dine-out culture as we do in Malaysia.
As a passionate chef with decades of experience in the industry, Yan sees himself as an ambassador and mentor to chefs. His pride in championing Malaysian food, culture, and heritage reflects the very spirit of his iconic catchphrase, “If Yan can cook, so can you!”
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