By Wong Ah Yoke

The recent report that more than 90 per cent of tickets for this year's World Gourmet Summit were sold may have surprised some, seeing that it is happening in a recession.

But foodies were probably just waiting for a reason to loosen both their belts and their purse strings after months of abstinence, and the summit certainly provided a good reason. Those who attended this year's events will no doubt agree that on the whole, standards were high.

After an uneven first week, the Summit really picked up steam with last Saturday's Awards of Excellence ceremony, which honoured restaurants as well as food and beverage personalities in Singapore and in the region.

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