Student Chef Representatives of 50 countries are participating in the Olympiad. It is the biggest ever in the past 10 editions. 9 countries out of 50 participated in Round 1 of the competition. The competition is being held simultaneously across five centers Kolkata, Goa, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. The top 20 of these first found will qualify for semi-finals and 10 for finals to be held in Kolkata on 8th February. The three winners together will walk away INR Ten lakhs besides a golden trophy. Azerbaijan won the trophy in the last two years consecutively
One Indian student from Bangalore Ali Akbar was chosen out of eight campuses of IIHM India in the competition. He is competing in Round 1 in Goa.
Addressing the press conference Dr. Suborno Bose is the chairman and Chief Mentor of the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) said the Olympiad began small with 15 countries participating in it. Now the number has gone up to 50. The objective of the competition is to spread a message of unity through food. The competition helps to forge new bods, friendship, network, mutual cooperation for professional growth, brotherhood across the nation. It also promotes India, its culture and cuisine as these participants keep talking about India when they back to their own countries, Dr Bose said.
Dr Bose is also the chairman of the International Hospitality Council (IHC) and the founder of the Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) said AI (Artificial Intelligence) is making culinary experience exciting. It is revolutionising in meal planning, personalization, exploring smart kitchen appliances, menu planning, food presentation, plating, reducing waste etc he said. The theme of the this year Young Chef Olympiad is AI. AI is cooking a lot in the cooking industry, he said.
It is a unique competitive event being held for the Eleventh time since its inception in 2015, with around 50 countries participating this time. Held under the auspices of the International Hospitality Council, UK, the competition is organized by IIHM, a part of the Indismart Group which is a large conglomerate that operates the IndiSmart Hotels and offers a wide range of services in the field of Hospitality Management Education Training and Consultancy in India and South East Asia informed Mr. Emmanuel, Director of IIHM, Hyderabad.
Dr Nawab Mir Nasir Ali Khan, Honble Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan Hyderabad and the following International YCO Judges were among the many who graced the Olympiad at Hyuderabad
1. Director – Mr. Dhunji Kavarna – Former CEO ITC Hotels and Senior Hospitality Mentor & Coach at IIHM Hotel school.
Technical Judges
1. Chef Steve Munkley – Vice President of the Craft Guild of Chefs and Serving as the Executive
Head Chef at The Royal Garden Hotel for over 23 years.
2. Chef Chalapathi Rao – Managing Partner Simply South Restaurants,
3. Chef Stefan Hogan – A Culinary Maestro with 30 Years of Excellence and Culinary Director at Corinthia Budapest.
Tasting Judges
1. Chef Sarah Hartnett – Executive Pastry Chef at Smart Group Ltd. She is also the Chef Ambassador for UCC Coffee UK & Ireland and collaborates with IBC Belgium
2. Chef Rahul Akerkar – Creative & Culinary Director at Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality. founder of Indigo, a Mumbai restaurant