A culinary competition that gave young chefs from 50 countries a platform to learn, collaborate and network with each other and industry greats over eight days ended on Saturday.

All returned with experiences and memories to savour, some with trophies in their
backpacks.

The 11th edition of the Young Chef Olympiad was organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) in partnership with the International Hospitality Council (IHC), London. The event travelled to five cities before concluding in Calcutta with a grand finale.

Ten teams contested in the finale. Kamran Taylor, a young chef from England, was crowned the champion. Armenia’s Arsen Armenakyan won the silver and Yves Gabriel Cabrera Po from the Philippines bagged the bronze.

Aliakbar Mustafa Rampurwala from IIHM Bengaluru collaborated with the UAE’s Jasmin Ali Maher Lutfi Jarrar to prepare a Kerala-style chicken curry, rice and vegetables, Lavash bread (made with no yeast) and mango chutney mayonnaise.

The two participants were helped by their mentors.

“It was the Mystery Box round where we were given the ingredients an hour before the competition. We had to brainstorm ideas that would give a flavour of the cultures of both countries. We had to think about cuisines with the ingredients we had. We decided to use all the ingredients given to us,” Aliakbar said.

“When the four of us (the participants and the two mentors) were together, we knew we had to be open to each other’s experiences and cultures.”

Rampurawala won the Dr Suborno Bose Culinary International Challenge Prize, along with Maher Lutfi Jarrar. The category featured 28 teams that did not make it to the grand finale or the Plate round. They were divided into 14 pairs representing two countries each.

There were other categories of competitions. The teams that ranked between 11 and 20 after the first round vied for the Plate Trophy, which was lifted by South Korea’s Shi-Hyun An.

“The competition gives young people a platform to network and interact and opens up job opportunities. They get opportunities to work not just in countries like the US, UK, Germany and France but also new tourist destinations like Azerbaijan,” said Suborno Bose, the chairman of the Young Chef Olympiad and founder of the International Institute of Hotel Management.

Bose said a competition like this gives industry professionals the scope to see young people on the job, which does not happen when they hire a recruitment agency. “It’s a great platform for our students. When they interact with global students, it makes them develop a global outlook,” he said.

In the last 11 years, about 600 young people from all over the world have travelled to India to take part in the Young Chef Olympiad. The event gives an opportunity to Indian states to showcase their best to the world.

“We are presenting India to the world. We see mentors who are on the faculty of various colleges. Judges and young chefs carry a great perception of the country with them. They come and savour the cuisine, see the demography and topography of a place and take a piece of India as a tourist destination, which automatically becomes a branding of the country,” said Bose.

He said the states should promote themselves to these countries by supporting the culinary olympiad.

“It’s not through finance alone. Support can come by way of infrastructure like providing auditoriums to host the rounds or transport facilities for the participants,” said Bose.

David Foskett, the chairman of the jury of the Young Chef Olympiad, said: “It is a celebration of friendship, unity and passion. It depicts the unifying power of food in a world of conflict.”