After a week of intense cooking and judging across six Indian cities, YCO 2023 finally came to a finish at a spectacular closing ceremony held at Wet-O-Wild, Nicco Park Complex, Salt Lake, Kolkata.
On 3 February 2023, the Top 10 finalists of YCO 2023 had been selected in the Grand Finale held at the IIHM Global Campus in Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata. They were- Azerbaijan, England, France, India, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the USA.
“Organized by sheer determination, the Young Chef Olympiad is not about winning or
losing,” said Dr Suborno Bose, the visionary and hospitality education pioneer behind YCO,
“It is about friendship, camaraderie, bonding, and about making friends for life. Yes, it’s a
competition but it’s also the place where the world meets the world. It’s the place where
you make memories for life”
Professor David Foskett, MBE and Chairperson of the Jury for YCO 2023 shared his thoughts
on the mega event. In a recorded video message, Lord Karan Billimoria, Chancellor,
University of Birmingham, congratulated IIHM on pulling off the mega event and wished it
all the best.
A high point of the closing ceremony was the presence of celebrity chef Padma Shree
Sanjeev Kapoor, who is the Chief Mentor of the Young Chef Olympiad.
And then it was time to hear the visionary thoughts of Dr Suborno Bose, the man who has singlehandedly brought 53 countries under one roof, with the event being beamed globally on IIHM’s dedicated channel with over 3.3 Million subscribers.
Finally, the Top-3 Winners of YCO 2023 were announced to much fanfare and applause.
- Naureen Shaikh from India won Bronze and a cash prize of US$ 2,000
- Patiphon Lertsurakitti of Thailand won Silver and a cash prize of US$ 3,000
- Emil Zeynalzade of Azerbaijan walked away with the top prize, the coveted Gold Trophy and a cash prize of US$ 5,000.
Dr Ashraf Shikhaliyev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to India, who had especially flown in
from New Delhi to attend the Closing Ceremony, was delighted with Azerbaijan’s win and
wished the Young Chef from Azerbaijan all the best for his career.
The Closing Ceremony also had the audience swinging to the gorgeous SHANE’s hip-moving, foot-tapping numbers.
