IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2024: Win for Nepali Chef and Dishes

Young Nepali chef Kamal Thapa made the nation proud by clinching a prestigious silver medal at the grand 10th IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2024 in Kolkata's Wet O Wild amusement park alongside Philippines' Clifford Jeff Cadunggo Unabia, as Azerbaijan’s Leyla Valiyeva took home the coveted gold trophy. Italy’s Francesco Orsi won bronze during the global culinary competition described as the world's biggest culinary battle. The week-long global cooking battle witnessed chefs under training from over 60 countries competing, marking it one of YCO's largest-ever participation.

Beyond the gold, silver, and bronze winners, the 10th IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2024 also recognized numerous special category award recipients.

The Plate Trophy round held for teams ranked between 11th to 20th position was won by India’s candidate Lenin Bopanna. New Zealand took home the Kitchen Cut Management trophy. Nepal’s entry secured the Best Vegetarian Dish award while Italy clinched the Best Crème Soufflé a l’Orange honor.

There were also six each of the Best Mentor, Best Young Chef Ambassador, Best Hygiene and Best Knife Skills Awards announced. The Best Mentor nominees were based on respective participant team recommendations. These awards went to Greece, Jordan, Netherlands, Ethiopia, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea entries.

The six Best Young Chef Ambassador Awards were presented to Australia, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Scotland, Sri Lanka and Nepal for displaying exceptional culinary talent and skills beyond just the final cook-off criteria.

The participants from Namibia, Portugal, England, Bulgaria, Armenia and Azerbaijan won recognition for stellar standards in Hygiene and Kitchen Practice maintenance adhered throughout the competition duration.

The Best Knife Skills displayed awards went to deserving Thailand, Portugal, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Armenia and Azerbaijan chefs.

The newly introduced Lord Bilimoria Rising Star Awards identifying emerging talents were awarded among six countries - Namibia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Mauritius, Ireland and Oman based on aggregated scores.

Kenya won the Gold Global Sustainability Award for their entry aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Spirit of Young Chef Olympiad special jury recognition went to Lesotho.

The Dr Bose Challenge Trophy for participants ranked outside the top-20 group was awarded to Kenya and Switzerland.

This extraordinary forum was orchestrated by the International Hospitality Council and held under the auspices of the world-famous International Institute of Hotel Management. The event was highlighted by the spirit of ‘One World One YCO’ which brought together future culinary stars judged by celebrity chef judges like Scotsman Gary Maclean and industry veterans from five continents who assessed talent, technique, temperament, and tantalizing tastes!

With dreams ignited, knowledge acquired, and aspirations developed around flavors that can cross borders, YCO 2024 proved a class above the rest as it launched young chefs into ultimate experience battle testing youthful promise to reach commanding global kitchens advancing food culture and their careers while modern institutions provide effective support through sustainable developmental initiatives across communities.

Besides this current achievement, another notable achievement for Nepali culinary is the 2020 runner-up finish for Nepali Chef Mr. Santosh Sah in Masterchef: The Professional. Mr. Sah bettered on this already big achievement by winning the rematch edition.