The International IIHM (International Institute of Hotel Management) Young Chef Olympiad, the biggest event in the annual calendar of the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), is returning for its 9th edition with much fanfare.
After being held virtually for the last two editions, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the much-awaited Olympiad is back in its physical form.
It is an exciting time as IIHM campuses across India gear up to host the 9th International Young Chef Olympiad. This year the event is bigger and more ambitious than ever before and is being supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and 10 state governments.
With over 60 countries participating this year, the International IIHM Young Chef Olympiad (YCO 2023) is slated to be a grand, star-studded event of global proportions.
This year, several new countries are in the fray, including Australia, the Netherlands, Egypt, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Azerbaijan and Tanzania.
YCO 2023 will be evaluated by a 28-member grand jury featuring the who’s who of the culinary and hospitality world. Padma Shri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is the event’s principal mentor. The chief judges are chefs Andreas Muller and John Wood.
Professor David Foskett is the chairman of the YCO grand jury, Paul Jervis is the chief adjudicator, and Peter Jones is the research chair.
The grand jury also includes renowned culinary names such as Chef Ranveer Brar, an Indian celebrity chef; Chef Manjunath Mural – Michelin star chef from Singapore; Chef Mario Perera – the executive chef at The Dorchester Collection; and Chef Gary Maclean – national chef of Scotland.
Chef Sarah Hartnett – renowned chocolatier and pâtissier; Chef Rahul Akerkar – master chef, restaurateur and founder of Indigo, India; Chef Russell Bateman – celebrity chef; Chef Steve Munkley- vice president of Craft Guild of Chefs, UK and former executive chef at Royal Garden Hotel, London; and Chef Parvinder Bali – programme manager of culinary services at the Oberoi Center of Learning and Development (OCLD), New Delhi and others are also to be part of the grand jury.
“I would like to congratulate IIHM and Young Chef Olympiad for organising the World’s biggest culinary competition. Year 2023 is the year of the millet and I am pleased to know that YCO has used millet as one of the ingredients in the competition,” said CM Dr Pramod Sawant.
He continued with, “This promotes sustainability and the message of the United Nations in addressing the global issue of hunger and making India a global hub for the millet."
He also said, “Goa welcomes all the participants from various countries and wishes them the best of luck for this global event. Thank you to IIHM and International Hospitality Council London for getting the world to India.”
Dr Suborno Bose, the chairman of YCO Global Council, CEO of International Hospitality Council, London and founder and chief mentor of Indismart Group, said, “The 9th International Young Chef Olympiad is the first major culinary Olympiad post the pandemic, anywhere in the world.”
He continued, saying, “In 2023, the theme is ‘UN Sustainable Development Goals’. This assumes great significance in light of India’s G20 Presidency. This year over 60 countries are participating in the Olympiad. This is the first time in the history of the event that there is participation in such large numbers.”
The competition will not only serve to inspire chefs around the world to do their best, it will also make them aware of the importance of sustainability in the field of hospitality.
The schedule of YCO 2023 is as follows:
January 29, 2023 – IIHM-YCO Global Congress on Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi
January 29, 2023 – Opening ceremony at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi
January 30, 2023 – Round 1 at IIHM Delhi Campus for Group A and B
January 31, 2023 – Round 1 for Groups C to F at IIHM Goa, IIHM Bangalore, IIHM Pune and IIHM Hyderabad Campuses
February 1, 2023 – Announcement of qualifiers for the grand finale, Plate Trophy and YCO Dr Suborno Bose Challenge; Final of sustainability presentations to the panel; International United World of Chefs at IIHM Global Campus, Kolkata
February 2, 2023 – YCO Dr Suborno Bose Challenge competition at IIHM Global Campus, Kolkata
February 3, 2023 – Grand finale at IIHM Global Campus Kolkata
February 3, 2023 – Plate Trophy finale at IIHM Global Campus Kolkata
February 4, 2023 – Awards night and closing ceremony at Nicco Park Complex, Salt Lake City, Kolkata
The 9th YCO is being held between Sunday, January 29 and Saturday, February 4, 2023, in five cities across India. The opening ceremony takes place in Delhi on Sunday, January 29.
The first round of the competition will take place over the next two days with competitors being split into groups and competing in either Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad or Goa.
Following round 1, all the competitors and mentors will be transported to the cultural city of Kolkata for the next stage of the Olympiad. The leading 10 competitors from Round 1 will compete in the grand finale.
The next 10 competitors filling the 11th to 20th positions will compete for the Plate Trophy and the remaining competitors will take part in the YCO Dr Suborno Bose Challenge. The 9th International IIHM Young Chef Olympiad looks all set to be the mega culinary competition and conclave of the year.
The grand finale'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 February 4, 2023.
While the gold medal winner will be awarded prize money of US$ 5,000, the silver medal winner will bag US$ 3,000 and the bronze medal winner, US$ 2,000.
IIHM-YCO Global Congress on Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism
On the Opening Day of YCO 2023, IIHM is organising the IIHM-YCO International Congress on Sustainability in Tourism and Hospitality in New Delhi.
This Congress is being organised on the lines of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and will bring together world leaders in sustainable hospitality such as renowned author and hospitality educator Prof David Foskett MBE; Aradhana Khowala, the CEO of Aptamind Partners, United Kingdom; Anita Mendiratta, the special advisor to the secretary general of UNWTO.
Michelin-starred chef John Wood; Sunjae Sharma, the managing director of India and South West Asia, Hyatt Hotels Corporation; and Puneet Dhawan, the senior vice president of India and South Asia, Accor Hotels, will also be present.
The IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2023 is a joint initiative of the International Hospitality Council UK and the International Institute of Hotel Management.
IIHM, the International Institute of Hotel Management is the largest chain of premier Hospitality and Hotel Management schools across India that started its journey in 1994 under the dynamic leadership of Dr Suborno Bose.
It offers world-class education in hospitality management in India and internationally. IIHM has campuses in Goa, Kolkata, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangkok, Samarkand in Uzbekistan, and Singapore campus will be opening soon.