The 8th International IIHM Young Chef Olympiad drew to a close at a glittering Closing Ceremony organized at IIHM Kolkata’s Global Campus. Matteo Cignetti of Italy won the coveted gold trophy and crowned Best Young Chef of 2022. The silver went to Chong Jia De of Singapore while Halldor Haflidason of Iceland bagged bronze.
After seven eventful days across six continents and 24 times zones, a remarkable edition of the world’s Biggest Culinary Battle came to a close. Connecting over 50 countries of the world through state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, YCO 2022, was one of the biggest in size and scale with 176 cameras catching all the action of 40 participants, 200 judges, 150 hospitality stalwarts.
Besides the top three, YCO 2022 had a long list of special category winners. The Plate Trophy round held the next best ranked between 11 to 20 in the competition, went to Gayane Simonyan of Armenia. The Kitchen Cut Management Award went to Switzerland. The Best Vegetarian Dish went to England while the Best Crème Caramel Dish went to Bulgaria.
Six Mentor Awards were given away based on each of the mentor’s recommendations about their respective participants. The awards went to Nigeria, Canada, Italy, Nepal, Spain, England. The six Best Young Chef Ambassador Awards went to India, Mexico, Switzerland, Iceland, Greece, Namibia.
Participants were also marked on Best Hygiene and Kitchen Practice maintained during competition and this award went to four participants from Greece, Iceland, Iran and Nepal. The Best Knife Skills Award went to four participants from Iran, Italy, Canada and Namibia.
Three special awards of The Spirit of YCO 2022 went to Kulsum Hussin, CEO, Welcome Skills International School of Hospitality, Bangladesh, Chef Andreas Mueller, Programme Director (International Cuisine) at VTC, Hong Kong, who is also one of the chief judges at YCO 2022 and Chef Enzo Oliveri Sicilian Celebrity Chef with Six Italian Restaurants in London and Sicily.
