Something’s cooking! Budding chefs from over 55 countries will cross ladles at the 9th edition of the International Young Chef Olympiad hosted by the International Hospitality Council, London, and the International Institute of Hotel Management from January 29 to February 4, 2023.
The world’s biggest culinary olympiad will be held across six cities of India over seven days. The theme for this year is ‘Sustainability’.
The olympiad was held virtually for the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, however, the participants will fly to India to take part in the event physically.
“This year, it is going to be a big affair with all the countries flying into India in the next 72 hours. Many of them will be moving out of their country for the first time to participate in the world’s biggest culinary event. We will start off at the IIHM campus in New Delhi, where the inaugural ceremony will be held followed by the first leg of the Olympiad,” said Dr Suborno Bose, Chairman and Founder of the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM).
The International Young Chef Olympiad 2023 will be judged by some of the best-known chefs and hospitality stalwarts from across the globe.
The grand jury will be chaired by David Foskett, MBE, and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor will play the role of principal mentor.
“I am happy to be associated with this first-of-its-kind culinary olympiad. This is not a competition but a bond-building initiative that will connect the young chefs with each other globally,” Chef Sanjeev Kapoor said in his virtual address.
The jury includes Andreas Muller, Committee Chairman, Culinary Education, Worldchefs Culinary Education; Peter Jones, MBE; Gary Maclean, National Chef of Scotland; Chris Galvin, Michelin-starred chef; Sarah Hartnett, Pâtissier and Chocolatier; Steve Munkley, Vice-President of the Craft Guild of Chefs; John Wood, Michelin-starred chef; Enzo Oliveri, Sicilian chef; Rahul Akerkar, founder of Indigo; Mario Perera, Executive Chef, The Dorchester, London; Parvinder Singh Bali, Corporate Chef, L&D, Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development; Manjunath Mural, Michelin-starred chef from Singapore; Russell Bateman, Head Chef of The Falcon, Castle Ashby, UK; and celebrity chef Ranveer Brar.
David Foskett, the Chairman of the grand jury, addressed the media from London. “We are back with the glory of this massive culinary olympiad. We held it virtually the last two years, yet they were very successful. This year we are back to show the world how important culinary art is and what better place to hold it in than India!” Foskett said.
The first round of the competition will be held across five IIHM city campuses in Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. The grand finale will be held in Kolkata, where IIHM is headquartered.