Student chefs from across the globe compete for culinary crown

Young chefs from all across the world are warming up to showcase their culinary finesse, with the return of the International Young Chef Olympiad.
Touted to be world's biggest culinary competition for student chefs, the Olympiad in its third edition will host teams from 45 countries.
Organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) and Incredible India, the annual culinary extravaganza will witness students from some of the best hospitality institutions competing against each other in four tough rounds.
The top 10 contestants from the first three rounds will showcase their innovative skills in the final battle for the winner's trophy and a cash prize of USD 10,000.

The participants have been divided into two teams - Team A and Team B and participants from each team are given 90 minutes to prepare certain number of portions of their dish.
In the first round, which was held here on 29th and 30th January, competitors prepared four portions of a classical chicken dish according to the recipe provided to them.

Their culinary skills were also tested with preparation of two omelets appropriate for a fine dining 'a-la-carte' breakfast.
For the second round, Team A will be travelling to Bangalore while Team B will go to Pune where they will showcase their creativity by preparing four Main Course portions of a vegetarian dish appropriate for a Bistro restaurant.

The challenge lies in the mandatory use of a mystery ingredient that will be announced right before the round begins.
"Each year the panel of judges consists of most distinguished faces from the culinary world. We have three sets of judges available for each round, who will mark the contestants on the technical and production element while scoring them on presentation, taste, flavour, and culinary knowledge," says the organiser of the event.
David Foskett, a London-based professor and author of the book 'Practical Cookery and Theory of Catering' will be the chairman of the jury.
The panel of judges include renowned Chef Sanjeev Kapoor as the Principal mentor.

Logan Guleff, the 14-year-old winner of MasterChef Junior US 2014 is also in India for the event, and will be the official mascot for the competition.
The final round which will be held in Kolkata, will be a two-hour long challenge that will test the chef's creativity, innovation, skills and professional good practice.
Four portions of four individual Tapas dishes will be prepared as a selection of appetizers along with four portions of a fish dish as a main course.
The Final round of the Olympiad will be held on February 2.