The First edition of International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) is scheduled to be organized from January 28, 2019, to February 2, 2019. The Event received applications from 50 countries. India will be represented by Madhumitha K.P, a student of International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM). The winner will be awarded a plate trophy along with cash prize of USD 10,000.
The Event will be conducted at the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan auditorium, New Delhi. The competition will consist of three phases of different culinary challenges. Candidates will be scored for each challenge. Based on the aggregate score, top 10 contestants will be shortlisted who will go for the grand finale to be held in Kolkata.
The Candidates will be judged by the team of tasting and technical judges. The technical judges will assess the candidates based on ability to manage food production areas, hygiene etc while the tasting judges will assess the candidates based on their ability to follow a recipe, culinary skills, creativity, taste, and presentation.
The five-day long contest will be held across Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. Though the final winner will get the Plate Trophy and USD 10,000. There will be many other prizes for the subcategory eg desert etc. A total of 18 winners will be announced.
The contestants will be divided into six groups, namely Group A, B, C, D, E and F. Each group will comprise a maximum of 10 contestants.
The locations are Delhi (Groups A, B, and C); Pune (Groups D and E) and Bangalore (Group F).