The winner was Ashwin from Malaysia, followed by 1st runner up Marcin from Spain and 2nd runner up Tajinder from UK. Ashwin, the 2015 International Young Chef Olympiad winner, took home a cash award of $10,000 USD, a gold medal and memories from India to cherish for a life time..
KOLKATA, INDIA – World’s First International Young Chef Olympiad 2015 was inaugurated in Kolkata on 29th Jan at the city center. In an Olympic style opening ceremony, all the participating countries marched along with their respective country flags supported by their teams and cheers of the crowd. Participating countries were United States of America, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Switzerland, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and team India, which was represented by Dhriti, 3rd year student of IIHM Jaipur, who was greeted with the largest crowd cheer. Mr Scott Furssedonn Wood, The British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata, congratulated the teams and wished them luck for participating in the first ever International Young Chef Olympiad in the world.
The International Young Chef Olympiad trophy was unveiled by Dr Suborno Bose, Founder of YCO Initiative, Chairman of the Organizing committee of the Young Chef Olympiad and Chief Mentor of International Institute of Hotel Management, followed by the grand entry of the Olympiad flag, carried by four successful women of India – Ms Madhumita Mohanta, Exec Chef, The Lalit Great Eastern – Kolkata; Siddhika Ghosh – Owner of Restaurant “The Wise Owl” in Kolkata; Chef Payal – Master Chef finalist from Kolkata; and Chef Preeti Singh – who made Kolkata proud.
The oath taking ceremony was undertaken by representatives of the participating countries, judges and the coaches. From India, Dhriti took the oath on behalf of all the participants. Equally scintillating was the entry of the brightly lit Olympiad torch carried by Garima Poddar, Winner of the Young Chef India Schools 2014 contest held in London, who along with all the contestants on the stage joined hands together to light up the flames carefully incorporated on the top of the cake, under the supervision of the Culinary Director of IIHM Chef Sanjay Kak. The flames of the Olympiad could be seen on the center of the cake, big and bright, which was followed by the cake cutting ceremony.
30th January was the preliminary and elimination round for the 15 contestants. Dylan from USA, Leo from France, Marcin from Spain, Marlon from China, Sumaiya from Bangladesh, Ian from Kenya, Indra from Bhutan, Tadiwa from Zimbabwe, Harsha from Sri Lanka, Ryan from Switzerland, Jennipha from Thailand, Tajinder from UK, Htoo from Myanmar, Ashwin from Malaysia and Dhriti from India competed against each other for the top 8 positions. They had to cook with the given ingredients, within a specified time. Apart from other factors, they were marked on creativity, hygiene, taste of the food and optimum utilization of the ingredients.
Ashwin Nicholos Oon, Team Malaysia, Winner 1st International Young Chef Olympiad 2015.
The very distinguished team of judges was headed by Prof. David Foskett – Head, London School of Hospitality and Tourism, University of West London, UK along with Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur of the Master Chef India fame, noted food critic and writer – Chef Karen Anand, Celebrity Italian Master Chef Roberto Boggio, and Chef Shaun Kenworthy. The top 8 countries that made it to the Grand final were Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, Kenya, France and India.
The Grand Finals were equally competitive where judges asked the contestants to make only vegetarian dishes. To top it up, the contestants from France and Spain had never been trained to make a purely vegetarian dish. The winner was Ashwin Nicholos Oon from Malaysia, followed by 1st runner up Marcin from Spain and 2nd runner up Tajinder from UK. Judges were impressed by the talent and introduced an award for the Outstanding Dish as well, which was won by Ian from Kenya.
Ashwin, the 2015 International Young Chef Olympiad winner, took home a cash award of $10,000 USD, a gold medal and memories from India to cherish for a life time.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
