BakeryBiz, Nov-Dec, 2020:
Hosted to commemorate International Chefs Day, the 17th Annual Chef Awards saw the presence of renowned master chefs and veterans of the hospitality industry at Pride Plaza Hotel, Aerocity, New Delhi. The evening witnessed several veterans as well as promising chefs who competed for the coveted titles.
As part of the awards, ICF also organised the 8th edition of Knowledge Summit which witnessed the participation of stalwarts of the Indian hospitality sector resulting in knowledge building and thought leadership. The theme of this year’s summit was “Exploring New Horizons and Challenges: Experts Perspectives on Opportunities During These Times”.
The inaugural session of the summit was conducted virtually by Anil Bhandari, a hospitality industry veteran and Chairman of the Organising Committee on the topic, Exploring New Horizons and Challenges: Experts Perspectives on Opportunities During These Times”. The second session was on Entrepreneurship and Chefs in the Post Covid Times by Celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, interviewed by Smitha Menon. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs, “Don’t keep waiting for very big opportunities. Start small and build on it. Most chefs think that perfection is a virtue, but I think it can be a big impediment. Because when you say something is perfect, there is a lot of pressure from yourself, friends, family etc. Gone are the days for launching anything big and with perfection. So, test and learn. And that’s the way to scale up. It gives you an opportunity to correct your course quickly. Don’t wait for perfection, because it may be too late.”
The third session of the day was a panel discussion on Skills Required by the Chefs – An Industry Perspective with Varendra S. Dutta, Rajan Bahadur, Sanjeev K Nayar, Mohammad Shoeb, and moderated by Rajiv Gulshan. The last session was on Future of Food through Sociological Lens by Vir Sanghvi, who was interviewed by Dilip Puri, Founder & CEO of Indian School of Hospitality. The summit was curated by Indian School of Hospitality
and co-ordinated by Dr. Chef Prem Ram, Joint secretary Indian Culinary Forum.
Speaking on the occasion, Anil Bhandari said, “Despite the pandemic, the determination and enthusiasm of the chefs of ICF, is evident from the fact that they have gone ahead full steam to celebrate the 17th Chef Awards and the 8th Knowledge Summit. I am thrilled to see that the chefs who were working behind the scenes are in the forefront. They are setting new standards of excellence in the hospitality industry and inspiring more people to choose this as a career.”
Chef Davinder Kumar, President Indian Culinary Forum also shared his views, “In these testing times of Covid-19, it was an overwhelming experience for ICF to have successfully organized the 17th Chef Awards and 8th Chef Summit. The challenge of organizing this event under constraints by circumstances has truly infused more enthusiasm and excitement in us. Digital platforms and technology have been harnessed to bridge social distancing. Alongside the Annual Chef Awards, month-long activities have been executed this year, like ICF’S first cookoff series where Senior Master chefs conducted amazing culinary demonstrations of immunity building recipes which were witnessed by thousands of people.”
Chef Vivek Saggar, General Secretary Indian Culinary Forum, opined “You can have a great career only if it’s built on a solid foundation. Right training can take you places and therefore, the Chef Awards is not just a competition, it is an opportunity for chefs to learn about the modern techniques and mechanisms that are used in kitchens across the world. They understand the value of getting basics right even while innovating.” As a build-up to the awards, four days’ culinary competitions, i.e. Trade Tests were held at IBCA Vikaspuri, New Delhi amongst the budding and promising chefs in 8 different categories. Over 60 culinary artists showcased their creativity and skills during these competitions.
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The following are the winners of the 17th Annual Chef Awards:
Lifetime Achievement Award – Chef Arun Agarwal
Golden Hat – Chef Arvind Rai of The Ashok, Delhi
Silver Hat – Chef Vinod Bhatti of IKEA
Pastry Chef of the Year – Chef Tarun Kumar of Sunrise Victuals, Sonipat. He is also a fast-growing YouTuber
Lady Chef of the Year – Chef Nandita Karan, The Lalit, Chandigarh
Master Chef of the Year – Chef Setu Gupta of Le Meridien
Master Chef Kebabs – Chef Surender Singh of Le Meridien
Master Chef International, Confectionary Award – Chef Manish Kanojia of Radisson, Gurugram
Master Chef Indian, Sweets Award – Chef Dalbir Singh of Ashok Hotel
Master Chef International, Cuisine Award – Chef Rajnish Rawat of Radisson, Paschim Vihar
Master Chef North Indian, Cuisine Award – Chef Mehboob Alam of Ashok Hotel
Master Chef Oriental, Cuisine Award – Chef Nima Tshering Lepcha of Radisson Blu, Delhi Airport
Master Chef Baker Award – Chef Narendra Singh of IHM, Gwalior
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