JOY ROY CHOUDHURYKolkata

‘IIHM Young Chef India Schools – 2015’, the annual culinary competition organised by International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), Kolkata and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, is aimed at spotting budding talent at high school level (XI / XII) with a flair for cooking is back in its new avatar. Many leading schools of the country are taking part in the event.

The preliminary rounds for the competition have already been successfully conducted at the different campuses of IIHM, located at Kolkata, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Bengaluru and the regional semi-finals and finals are lined up soon. The regional finalists will be flown to London where in the presence of leading chefs and culinary experts they participate in an international culinary format and battle for the coveted title of ‘Young Chef India’. The finals will be held at the University of West London in September.

“The objective of organising this event is to not only confined to get another young chef champion but to promote cooking and culinary arts as a life skill,” said Dr. Suborno Bose, chairman & chief mentor, IndiSmart Group Worldwide, which owns and runs IIHM Hotel School.

Over the last decade there has been a substantial growth in travel and tourism and hospitality businesses across the country. F&B is driving the growth of the Indian hospitality industry. Studies reveal Indian consumers are increasingly spending large sums, eating out with their family and friends on weekends and holidays, churning up a huge appetite for the global QSR and CDR business. Young Indians can be seen devouring millions of rupees worth of fast food at shopping malls, multiplexes, metro stations, highway eateries and even in office blocks, as the ‘eating out’ culture spread across urban India to even Tier – II and Tier-III cities. Reasons like these have fueled further the interest in taking up hospitality and chef, culinary arts as a profession. With the aim to stimulate and encourage a healthy interest in students who were considering a career in culinary arts, Dr Bose, conceptualised this unique nation-wide ‘battle of the youngchefs’ competition. Dr Bose feels that the budding chefs feel that they too can become part of the new movement of creativity and innovation in cuisine. Opportunities for creating a successful career as a ‘chef’ have today become a reality and are accessible in all parts of the world.

For the students who qualify for the finals, IIHM will bear their return air-fare, food, & accommodation as well as travel and sight-seeing costs in London, Dr. Bose added.