MUMBAI: The 8th edition of India’s biggest culinary extravaganza for school students, the Young Chef India (YCI) Schools 2018, is all set to premiere on Food Food Channel on 12th May 2018. The competition will be aired in five episodes and will showcase the journey of young chefs from North, South, West and East Zones, as they battle it out in the YCI Zonal Finals and then the Mega Final to clinch the winner’s trophy. Conceptualized and executed by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), the winner of YCI 2018 will be announced at the season finale to be aired on 9th June.

Young Chef India Schools is a platform for higher-secondary students to get a glimpse of the workings of the culinary industry and gain global recognition. Since its inception in 2011, thousands of students have participated in this competition and realized their dream and aspiration of displaying their culinary skills and being recognized for it. This year over 30,000 students from 2,800 schools participated in the competition.

Dr. Suborno Bose (Founder & Chief Mentor of IndiSmart Group & IIHM) said, “The IIHM Young Chef India, which started 7 years back, is possibly the first serious attempt by any Institute in India to unearth the talent of the future chefs of the nation. It’s now grown up into a huge brand and over 30,000 students of Class 11 & 12 participated this year from all over the country. The YCI is appreciated by the entire hospitality industry as a great contribution from IIHM to create the next-generation chefs for our industry.” He further added, “Food Food Channel is one of the best platforms for culinary interests, carrying a wide spectrum of shows based around the international culinary industry. We are proud to have them as our broadcast partners for this initiative.”

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The YCI 2018 was being held over the last few months in four zones – North, East, West and South – and four rigorous rounds of zonal cook-off sessions. The first three cook-off sessions were held in the home cities of the participants or at the nearest IIHM campus. In each round, the contestants were judged on metrics such as culinary skills and techniques, adherence to good health and safety and hygiene practice, minimal waste and best use of ingredients, professional appearance, attitude, dish presentation, taste and flavour.

Further, a total of 10 students per zone competed in the Zonal Finals at the IIHM Delhi Campus. This was a ‘Basket Test’, wherein the contents of the basket were disclosed to the contestants only 48 hours before the competition and they had to prepare the dish using only the ingredients from the basket along with a few generic ingredients and common Indian spices. The contestants were given 90 minutes to prepare two identical plated starters/kebabs with appropriate dip and garnish as well as two identical plated main course dishes consisting of a portion of protein, a rice dish and a lentil-based dish. Based on the judges’ scores, four contestants from each zone participated in a rapid fire round, which was included in the competition with the aim of testing how these budding chefs would handle difficult situations in future. This was their final race to clinch a spot in the Top Two who would represent their zone in the Mega Finals.

The Mega Finals comprised ‘Basket and Dessert Test’ wherein the participants were given 120 minutes to prepare two identical plated main course dishes with accompaniments using a pre-decided basket of ingredients as well as two portions of a pre-decided identical dessert for which the recipe was provided in advance. This recipe was also demonstrated once by a chef before the cook-off and all finalists had to replicate the dish. The judges gave scores to the contestants after tasting the dishes and asking some questions.

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While the judges’ scores will form 80% of the contestants’ final scores, Food Food channel will also conduct a public voting before the season finale for the remaining 20% scores. This will be an opportunity for the viewers to help their favorite contestant win the prestigious YCI 2018 competition.

The first four episodes of the YCI series will showcase the Zonal Finals for the South, West, East and North Zones and will be aired at 5 P.M. on Saturdays – 12th May, 19th May, 26th May and 2nd June – respectively. The YCI 2018 Mega Finals will be aired on 9th June and will showcase the ultimate clash of the finalists from all four zones and their battle to win the coveted title.

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