International Young Chef Olympiad begins

New Delhi: The International Young Chef Olympiad began here on Sunday with teams from 45 countries showcasing their culinary prowess.

The third edition of the culinary competition for student chefs, being organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) and Incredible India, will witness the teams competing in three rounds with varying difficulty levels. 

The top 10 contestants from the three rounds will showcase their gastronomic talent in the final battle for the winner's trophy and a cash prize of $10,000. 

"Being a professional chef is a very demanding, high pressure and extremely competitive job. A platform like the Young Chef Olympiad is a great way to showcase your talent and stand out amongst scores of others in the field," the principal judge, chef Sanjeev Kapoor, said in a statement released on Sunday. 

"It also provides a brilliant learning curve because it gives you a great insight on what is going on in the industry. Winning or even just participating can boost the levels of confidence and motivation in a young chef," Kapoor said.

The first round of the olympiad will have contestants following a given recipe to prepare a classic chicken dish appropriate for fine dining service. 

Additionally, they will also prepare an omelette appropriate for fine dining. 

In the second round, to be held in Bangalore and Pune, the young chefs will prepare a vegetarian main course dish, appropriate for service in a bistro, using a compulsory mystery ingredient that will be announced 24 hours before the start of the round. 

The third round will take place in Kolkata wherein the contestants will prepare a classic pudding dish. In this round, they will also have to prepare a desert. 

Each round will be of 90 minutes.

The 14-year-old MasterChef Junior US 2014 Winner Logan Guleff has come to India as the Young Chef Olympiad 2017 Mascot so as to boost the morale of the participants. 

"It's a fantastic event and a great platform for young chefs from so many countries to display their talent. I can't wait to meet these young contestants and experience the taste and flavors of all their countries. There'll be so much to learn from each other," he said. 

The event finale will be a two-hour long challenge in which the contesting student chefs have to prepare four portions of four Tapas (appetisers) along with four portions of a fish dish as the main course. 

The contestants will be judged on the basis of their culinary skills and techniques, adherence to good health, safety and hygiene practice, working methods, minimal waste, best use of ingredients, professional appearance, attitude, dish presentation, taste and flavour.