Bengaluru to host 2nd Incredible Chef’s Challenge; this year's focus - recipes using millets

The Incredible Chef’s Challenge (ICC), an annual competition that brings together the best chefs and academia, will be held at Palace Grounds in the city from June 13-15.

The event is organised by World of Hospitality (WHO) and South Indian Chefs Association (Sica), as part of the World of Hospitality Expo.

The expo is also held in Mumbai, Goa and New Delhi. Apart from the competition, the three-day event will host sessions decoding the latest trends and unveil new technologies that are transforming the hospitality sector.

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"The competition is open to chefs and students from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This year, 200 chefs have registered under seven categories. Owing to the fact that this is a millet year, the third day of the event will be dedicated to lost recipes prepared using millets. We are encouraging the participants to contemporise these traditional recipes so that they can be plated in modern style," said Nageshwaran A, Executive Officer of Sica, and Sous Chef at GRT Hotels and Resorts, Chennai.

"The competition is a highly sought-after platform for several chefs in the city to bag accreditation for their skills and also to improve by listening to the detailed feedback from the internationally acclaimed chef jury panel. The dedicated master classes hosted by partner brands will further help them choose their ingredients wisely and also open vivid networking opportunities, hence bolstering the industry-supplier relations," Steena Joy, organiser of the event and Editor of World of Hospitality News, said.

"As everything around us is transforming, the culinary arts too need to change to be relevant. Only innovations can lead the industry to thrive and we a younger generation that can push the boundaries in bringing to the table unexplored dishes. Competitions like these pave the way for that," said chef Kasi Viswanathan, Vice-president of Karnataka chapter, Sica and Director of Food and Beverage, Radisson Blu Atria, Bengaluru.

"Dr Jitendra P Dongare, Deputy Agricultural Marketing Advisor, Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries will be inaugurating the event on June 13. This year, we have planned a special talk on the 'Future of Food and Beverage in India' which will be hosted by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce and Food Service Consultants Association of India (FSCAI)," said Joy, adding that a housekeepers’ conclave highlighting the evolving cleanliness and hygiene norms by the Professional Housekeeper’s Association (PHA) is the other highlight of the event.

Chef Sudhakar N Rao, Director and Principal, Culinary Academy of India, Hyderabad, who will be part of the jury adjudging the competition entries, said, "Culinary competitions like ICC give a much-needed platform to young minds to bring their creative best and to prepare them to bring their uniqueness to professional kitchens. It is time we support such events and create a strong roadmap for the food and beverage industry."