Pune, 31st January 2023: IIHM(International Institute of Hotel Management) Young Chef Olympiad 2023 successfully wrapped up its first round of the competition today at their campus in Pune. The competition saw aspiring students from across 10 countries competing against each other. Participants from Botswana, France, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uganda, England, Netherlands, Thailand and Bangladesh participated at the Pune campus.

These participants demonstrated their culinary skills for over 3 hours in front of a panel of the finest Chef Judges, composed of some of the best-known chefs and hospitality stalwarts from all over the globe. The students received an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of an esteemed panel of judges including Chef Rahul Akerkar, Mumbai Based Celebrity Chef, Restaurateur and Founder of Indigo (India); Chef Peter Jones, Dean of the eHotelier Academy (England); Chef Steve Munkley, Executive Chef at the Royal Garden Hotel (England); Chef John Crockett, Senior Chef lecturer, Cardiff & Vale College (Wales); Chef Hoshang Debta, HOD Food Production at IIHM Pune; and Karen Anand, Indian food writer, TV personality and recipient of Trophée de l’Esprit Alimentaire award.

The students were judged on two stages. Stage one included a skill test while stage two was all about the cooking test. In the skill test, the students were judged on their cutting and chopping techniques and in the cooking test they were evaluated on the taste of the dishes and presentation skills. The students were asked to present a dessert and 4 portions of a main course vegetarian dish suitable to be served at a brasserie-style restaurant.

“I have been a part of IIHM YCO competition for a while now and I am very excited to be back in person after the pandemic. It is such an amazing view to see all the budding chefs from all over the world, teeming with energy. It is my pleasure to experience the dishes these chefs make and to help them through in the championship. Every great chef has had humble beginnings, and it’s electric to know that these folks will soon be making a name for themselves, and some great cuisines too.”

Chef Rahul Akerkar, Mumbai Based Celebrity Chef, Restaurateur and Founder of Indigo (India),

“It has been an exciting day at IIHM campus in Pune today. We witnessed exceptional enthusiasm in all the students who showcased their culinary skills in front of the finest culinarians in the industry. I am humbled and grateful to receive constant support for the participants from all the jury members, country mentors and the esteemed judges. I look forward to the next stage of the competition in the beautiful city of Kolkata as the students depart from Pune today.”

Mr. Rupinder Singh Khurana, Director IIHM Pune & Executive Committee Member for YCO 2023

Following Round 1, all the competitors and mentors will leave for the cultural city of Kolkata for the next stage of the competition. The leading 10 competitors from Round 1 will compete in the Grand Final; the next 10 competitors filling the 11^th to 20^th positions will compete for the Plate Trophy and the remaining competitors will take part in the YCO Dr Suborno Bose Challenge.

The Grand Final’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Medallists; the Plate Trophy Winner; the YCO Dr Suborno Bose Challenge Winner and all other award winners will be announced at the closing awards ceremony on the evening of 4^th February 2023. While the Gold winner will be awarded a prize money of US$ 5,000, the Silver winner will bag US$ 3,000 and the Bronze winner US$ 2,000.

2023 being the International Year of Millets, the 9th IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2023 is also promoting Millets in a big way, putting a spotlight on them as well as on sustainability.

About IIHM

IIHM (International Institute of Hotel Management) is one of the largest chains of premier hospitality and hotel management schools across India that started its journey in 1994 in Kolkata. IIHM is a part of Indismart Group, the conglomerate that operates Indismart Hotels. IIHM campuses are located across eleven National and International cities with the associate institute IAM-IHM located in Kolkata, and Guwahati. Students passing out of IIHM are armed with an international degree from the University of West London and equipped with global hospitality skills that enable easy placements in any hospitality brand across the world. IIHM is dedicated to its pursuit of excellence in teaching and placements. Real-time experience is the key to success in hospitality and that makes the institute popular. In recent years, IIHM has been instrumental in organizing the world’s biggest Culinary Olympiad Young Chef Olympiad, with the participation of over 50 countries, a unique idea and initiative inviting young culinary talents across the world. It has MoUs with over 50 countries for student and faculty exchange bringing the best of education to its students from around the World. The institute has bagged several prestigious awards in the past 29 years. The list includes the Best Education Brand Award from Economic Times consecutively in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. It was also featured in Forbes Magazine as Great Indian Institute and Great Place to Study consecutively in the year 2018 – 2019 and 2019 – 2020. IIHM was also awarded as one of the World’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2015-16 by URS International (IMEA – Process Reviewer PriceWaterhouseCoopers PL) and also received the Best Institute in Hospitality Education 2017 Award by Assocham from Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD (Higher Education), Govt. of India.

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