The Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) is an annual international culinary competition for student chefs, organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM). Founded by Suborno Bose, it was first held in 2015. The competition has been held in several Indian cities, with final rounds normally held in Kolkata.
Format The Olympiad is contested by students representing participating countries and culinary institutions. Its format has varied by edition, generally comprising preliminary rounds in multiple Indian cities followed by a final in Kolkata. The 2021 and 2022 editions were conducted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Editions + Young Chef Olympiad editions Edition Dates Format and locations Reported participation Gold Silver Bronze 1st 2015 Kolkata 15 countries AshwinMalaysia MarcinSpain TajinderUnited Kingdom 2nd 27 January–2 February 2016 Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata Over 50 countries Daniella GarmondCanada Gabriela Aleksandrova HristovaUnited Arab Emirates Johan Kurkela (Finland) and Fernando Andres Guajardo Moguel (Mexico), joint 3rd 28 January–2 February 2017 Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata Over 45 countries Tham Jiajun MathewSingapore Andrew Ou Kai PengMalaysia Selah SchmollCanada 4th 28 January–2 February 2018 Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata Over 50 countries Lai Jia YiMalaysia Surya Sekhar Roy ChoudhuryIndia — 5th 28 January–2 February 2019 Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata 50 countries Cyrène RandrianasoloFrance Bogdan-Petru-Alin VandiciRomania Luke HaywardEngland 6th 28 January–2 February 2020 Delhi, Pune, Goa, Bengaluru and Kolkata 55 countries Chen Khai LoongMalaysia Austin Cale LabagoPhilippines Bethany CollinsEngland 7th 31 January–6 February 2021 Virtual 50 countries Lee Maan KiHong Kong Srijaenthi NatrajUnited Arab Emirates Jessica Louise HoskinsNew Zealand 8th 2022 Virtual 46 countries Matteo CignettiItaly Chong Jia DeSingapore Halldor HaflidasonIceland 9th 29 January–4 February 2023 Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Pune and Kolkata More than 50 countries Emil ZeynalzadeAzerbaijan Patiphon LertsuakittiThailand Naureen ShaikhIndia 10th 29 January–4 February 2024 Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa and Kolkata 60 countries Leyla ValiyevaAzerbaijan Clifford Jeff Cadunggo Unabia (Philippines) and Kamal Thapa (Nepal), joint Francesco OrsiItaly 11th 2–8 February 2025 Goa, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata 50 countries Kamran TaylorEngland Arsen ArmenakyanArmenia Yves Gabriel Cabrera PoPhilippines 12th 1–6 February 2026 Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Goa and Kolkata 40 countries Enri CuedariAlbania Dominic Thomas GrundyEngland Vidanagamage Rumira Reshan PiyasiriSri Lanka
History The first Young Chef Olympiad was held in Kolkata in 2015, with participants from 15 countries. The following editions expanded the competition to preliminary rounds in several Indian cities before a final round in Kolkata.
The 2018 edition took place in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The 2019 edition was held in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata from 28 January to 2 February, with participants from 50 countries.
The 2020 event used venues in Delhi, Pune, Goa, Bengaluru and Kolkata and involved participants from 55 countries. The 2021 and 2022 editions were conducted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The competition returned to an in-person format in 2023. That edition was held in Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Pune and Kolkata. The 2024 edition included 60 participants from different countries.
Results The early-edition results were reported in contemporary coverage. Cyrène Randrianasolo won the 2019 competition and Chen Khai Loong won in 2020.
Matteo Cignetti won the 2022 edition, while Emil Zeynalzade won in 2023 and Leyla Valiyeva won in 2024.
Kamran Taylor won the 2025 edition. Enri Cuedari won the 2026 edition; its final was held in Kolkata.
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