Connecting and recognising the world's culinary professionals since 1950.
The World Association of Master Chefs is a professional fellowship of chefs, restaurateurs, educators and culinary leaders, across 88 chapters in 68 countries.
A fellowship of craft, not a club of titles.
WAMC exists to raise the standards of the culinary profession through fellowship, education, and recognition — and to give working chefs a global community that endures beyond any single restaurant or career stage.
Members earn their place through demonstrated craft and contribution. Some are world-renowned; many are working quietly in their own kitchens, teaching apprentices, or running a chapter in their region. What unites them is a commitment to the discipline of the trade and to one another.
We are independent, member-funded, and non-commercial. Sponsors support our programmes; they do not direct them.
Five enduring values.
Craft
Technique mastered over decades. The discipline of doing fundamental things consistently well.
Mentorship
Every senior member is expected to pass the craft on. Junior members are paired with mentors from their first year.
Hospitality
The trade exists to feed and welcome others. Our standards begin and end with the guest.
Integrity
Honest sourcing, honest credentials, honest conduct. Members are accountable to each other.
Fellowship
A profession that can be lonely at the top is made bearable by the company of equals.
A short history of WAMC.
From a quiet meeting of seven chefs in postwar Lausanne to a global association spanning every continent.
Explore the timelineA heraldic mark with a story.
The crown denotes the order of the trade — mastery recognised. The laurel wreath, a classical mark of excellence, holds the badge at its centre. Within the medallion, a chef raises a domed platter beneath the Southern Cross — the craft, dignified, presented under stars that root the association to its founding chapter. The ribbon below records 1950, the year the association was chartered. Each regional chapter wears the mark in its own livery — the constellation changes, the chef does not.
Learn more about WAMC.
Read about our governance, our standards of conduct, or get in touch with the association.