Four Leela Ambience chefs bagged awards at the 16th essay of the Annual Chef Awards, organised by the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) in Delhi recently to commemorate International Chef’s Day. M P K Reddy won the Master Chef International Confectionery Award; Govind Singh Deopa bagged the Master Chef South/East/West Indian Cuisine Award; Jatin Bhatia bagged the Master Chef International Cuisine Award, and Swapnil Mendiratta bagged the Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award.
Renowned chefs (including Sanjeev Kapoor) and hospitality industry veterans were present at the event, over which Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, Niti Aayog, presided as chief guest. It also witnessed the gathering of young chefs and students, taking the total number of attendees to 400.
Chefs from Hotel Lemon Tree bagged two awards. While Sukanta Pal won the Master Chef Indian Sweets Award, Dhum Singh won the Master Chef North Indian Cuisine Award.
Raj Kumar Gupta (Hotel Le Meridien) won the Master Chef of the Year Award; Ravindra (Country Inns and Suites by Radisson) won the Master Chef Kebabs Award, and Deepak James (Hotel Suryaa) won the Master Chef Baker Award.
Ashi Nibekar (DIHM) won the Student Chef of the Year (Female) Award, and Kartik Agarwal (BCIHMCT) won the Student Chef of the Year (Male) Award.
While Machindra Umakant Kasture of The Ashok Hotel bagged the Golden Hat, chefs Sanjay Agrawal and Vivek Saggar (who is also general secretary, ICF) shared the Silver Hat.
Ranojit Kundu bagged the Pastry Chef of the Year Award; Rekha Sharma bagged the Lady Chef of the Year Award, and Kalyan Karmakar bagged the Food Writer Award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred upon Sushil Chugh, general manager and executive chef, Country Inns and Suites by Radisson, and a Special Jury Award for Excellence in Culinary Art was conferred upon chef Vikas Khanna for his outstanding contribution to promoting Indian cuisine globally.
The event was conceptualised to bring international acclaim to Indian cuisine and honour the chefs and their contributions to the hospitality industry and the society at large.
Addressing the attendees, Kant said, “Indian chefs are one of the best in the world. There is a lot of stress on health food, but if we look at traditional Indian cuisine, there is nothing healthier than it. Indian chefs are the best brand ambassadors of the country, and will play a pivotal role in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of becoming a Rs 5 trillion economy by 2024.”
Speaking on the occasion, Anil Bhandari, hospitality industry veteran and chairman, organising committee, ICF, said, “It is an overwhelming experience to have successfully organised the Annual Chef Awards for the last one-and-a-half decades.”
“Our idea behind the inception of the Chef Awards was to provide both veteran and upcoming chefs a professional platform where they can exhibit and hone their culinary skills,” he added.
Bhandari said, “We want Indian culinary art to gain more international recognition and acclaim. We are thrilled to see how the valuable experience gained by all the chefs here have helped them maximise their potential and growth in the last many years. We hope the Chef Awards continue to inspire and encourage more chefs.”
Chef Davinder Kumar, president, ICF, said, “The Chef Awards aim to not only honour the contributions of our fraternity members but also motivate thousands of youngsters to take up this profession.”
“Hosting the Chef Awards would not have been an immensely successful affair without the constant support and encouragement of the industry experts, jury members, associates, sponsors, and participants,” he added.
“We have all made earnest endeavours to bring our fraternity closer year after year, and will continue to do everything possible for the betterment of the culinary profession. By imparting improved education and organising grand industry-specific events, we will try and set new benchmarks in the hospitality industry,” Kumar said.
Saggar opined, “There is a need to see chefs as nothing less than artists as what they prepare, requires a great deal of imagination and creativity. It is a platform where the young turks can meet the veterans of the field and exchange ideas. The awards will spread greater awareness about this profession and highlight the indispensable role of chefs in the hospitality sector.”
As a build-up to the awards, culinary competitions were held over four days at RIG Institute of Hospitality and Management, Greater Noida and Academy of Pastry Arts, Gurugram among young and promising chefs in 10 different categories.
Over 100 culinary artistes showcased their creativity and skills during these competitions. Noted Malaysian chef Peter Chan was the chairperson of the jury in this year’s competitions along with renowned national and international chefs, and chef Sireesh Saxena was the organising secretary. The awards also honoured industry veterans in six other coveted categories. The winners were selected by a panel of an esteemed jury.