New Delhi, November 18, 2017: Chefs are one of the most important reasons for the success of any restaurant. They work behind the scenes preparing delicious food for guests with discerning tastes. To celebrate and recognize the talent behind the kitchen, Whos who from the hospitality and culinary industry came together at the 14thAnnual Chef Awards organized by the Indian Culinary Forum at The Ashok Hotel, Chankyapuri, New Delhi on November 1, 2017. The best among the 100s of chefs were bestowed with awards in the presence of Chief Guest, Minister of the State Tourism, Minister of the State Electronic & I.T. Shri K.J. Alphons among other top notch names from the culinary fraternity. Chefs’ award is a platform to recognize and honor the culinary excellence. The objective is to act as a link, a platform and an instrument for the enhancement and overall development of the national community of chefs.
The culinary extravaganza kicked-off with the four-day long Trade test where participating chefs competed in 11 culinary categories and showcased a series of live culinary skills. Chairperson of the jury, Sri Lankan chef Alan Palmer, Global Culinary Competition Coordinator, is the Chairperson of the Hon’ble Jury along with renowned national and international chefs. As part of the celebrations, ICF also organized Chef Summit for Consecutive fourth year, where eminent names from the Hospitality industry, like Mr Anil Bhandari (Chairman AB Smart Concepts & AB Smart Placement), Chef Davender Kumar, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Chef Sudhir Sibal, Chef Manjit Gill, Chef Sabyasachi ‘Saby’ Gorai, Sourish Bhattacharyya, Sonali Sinha (CEO, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council), Chef Vinod Bhati, Bikramjit Ray, Chef Shaju Zacariah, and others.
Anil Bhandari, Chairman Organizing Committee, said “ We instituted Chef Awards in the year 2004 to recognize and honour Chefs for their contribution to the Hospitality industry and society at large. There are five special award categories which include Lifetime Achievement Award, Best Food Writer Award, Golden Hat Award and Silver Hat Award. The Trade Test category includes Chef of the Year Award, Master Chef International Cuisine Award, Master Chef North India Cuisine Award, Master Chef Rest of India Cuisine Award, Master Chef Kebabs Award, Master Chef Indian Sweets Award, Master Chef International Confectionary Award, Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award, Kitchen Artist Award and Student Chef of the Year.”
Chef Davinder Kumar, President Indian Culinary Forum, says “We have been organizing the Annual Chef Awards since the last 13 years as a part of the celebrations of International Chef’s Day, as our contribution to accredit a Chef as an artist. The objective of Chef Awards is to offer fellow Chefs a professional platform to showcase, exhibit, hone their culinary skills and raise the overall Indian Culinary Art at par with international standards. We assure that it will be a valuable experience for all the Chefs and will maximize their potential and growth in the sector.”
Chef Vivek Saggar, General Secretary, of Indian Culinary Forum, says “the aim of Chef Award to recognize, honour and promote culinary excellence among the fraternity of Chefs and encourage youngsters to join the industry. The platform was not merely a competition as chefs will be able to keep themselves updated with modern techniques and mechanisms that are used in kitchens across the world. This year ICF has tied up with Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council as the Skill Partner to promote and contribute in the Government’s Skill India Mission by providing right platform.”
The winners of the different award category were:
Hall Of Fame – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor
Lifetime Achievement Award – Chef Manmohan Singh
Golden Hat Award – Chef Sudeep Bose (HOD, IHM Pusa)
Silver Hat Award – Chef Gautam Chaudhary (Demiurgic Hospitality, Gurgaon)
Lady Chef of the Year – Chef Mousmi Das (Galgotia University, Greater Noida)
Chef of the Year – Sumit Pant (Banarasidas Chandiwala Hotel Management Institute, Okhla)
Best food writer award – Mr. Sitaram Mewati
Master Chef International Cuisine award – Mohit Pokhriyal (Le Meridian, New Delhi)
Master Chef Baker Awards – Sum it Kumar (Le Meridian, New Delhi)
Master Chef South/ East/ West Indian Cuisine – Kamla Kamalakannam (The Oberoi, Gurgaon)
Kitchen Artist award – Jitendra (The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi)
Master Chef North India Cuisine Award – Chef Vaij Nath (The Ahsok Hotel, New Delhi)
Master Chef Indian Sweets Award – Sukanta Pal (Lemon Tree Premier, Aerocity)
Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award – Harish Chander (Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon)
Master Chef Kebab Award – Ravindra Singh (Country Inn & Suites, Sahibabad)
Student Chef of the Year Award (Male) – Vijay Chawla (Cake and Bake Academy)
Student Chef of the Year Award (Female) – Vrinda Kureel (IICA_Hauz Khas)
