By IANSlife

October 18, 2022 (IANSlife) As part of the commemoration of International Chefs Day, the Indian Culinary Forum, the country's top organisation for professional cooks, honoured some of the best chefs in India at the biggest culinary awards. The 19th edition of these prestigious awards was held at the Hotel Pride Plaza in Aerocity, New Delhi, and included renowned master chefs and veterans of the hospitality business. The evening's keynote guest, Arvind Singh, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, presented awards to the winners.

In front of more than 400 business leaders, young chefs, and people interested in pursuing careers in the industry, seventeen outstanding culinary artists received awards in a variety of categories, including the lifetime achievement award, golden chef of the year, silver chef of the year, and others.

In his address, Chef Davinder Kumar, President of the Indian Culinary Forum, said, “The idea behind instituting the Chef Awards was to provide both veteran and upcoming chefs a platform to exhibit and hone their culinary skills. We are thankful to the industry participants, jury members, associates, and sponsors for their support in making the awards successful. We are thrilled to see that the experience gained by the chefs here has helped them maximise their potential and growth, and we hope the awards continue to inspire and encourage more chefs.”

Chef Vivek Saggar, General Secretary of the Indian Culinary Forum, said, “It’s an overwhelming experience to have successfully organised the Annual Chef Awards for nineteen years. We want Indian culinary art to gain more international recognition and acclaim. The Chef Awards not only honour the contribution of our fraternity members but also motivate thousands of youngsters to take up this profession.”

Chef Vinod Bhati, Treasurer of the Indian Culinary Forum added “A Big thanks to our title partner Maggi Professional for making this grand ceremony successful, and special thanks to our associate partners Nutaste, Patanjali, DP Chocolates, Food Service India, Rich's, Griffith Foods, Cream bell and all our event partners & supporting association for making it a success”.

A four-day cooking competition was held at the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Delhi and the Institute of Bakery & Culinary Arts in Delhi in preparation for the Chef Awards. In 11 categories, nearly 150 cooks from all over India participated in the competition.

Of the 17 award recipients, eleven were chosen through this contest, while the remaining six were picked by a distinguished panel. Dayashankar Sharma, a certified member of the World Association of Cooks Societies (WCAS), presided over the jury for the awards, and renowned chef Sireesh Saxena served as the event's organising secretary. Maggi Professional served as the event's headline sponsor, and Nutaste, Patanjali, DP Chocolates, Food Service India, Rich's, Griffith Foods, and Cream Bell served as associate partners.

The following are the winners of the 19th Annual Chef Awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Chef Virender S Datta
• Golden Hat:  Chef Vineet Manocha                          
• Silver Hat:   Chef Bharat Alagh                          
• Pastry Chef of the Year: Chef Deep Mohan Singh Bajaj     
• Master Chef Fruit & Vegetable Carving: Chef Carving Karthick          
• Food writer Award: Mr. Sumit Jha          
• Master Chef of the Year: Chef Anuj Mathur
• Master Chef Kebabs: Chef Hasan Ali
• Master Chef International Confectionery Award: Chef Izhar Ahmad
• Master Chef Indian Sweets Award: Chef Dalbir Singh
• Master Chef South/East/West Indian Cuisine: Chef Ravinder Singh
• Master Chef International Cuisine Award: Chef Varun Chauhan
• Master Chef North Indian Cuisine Award: Chef Praveen Kumar
• Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award: Chef Mangal Gautam
• Master Chef Baker Award: Chef Raju Kumar
• Student Chef of the Year (Female):  Sohail Saifi
• Student Chef of the Year (Male): Radhika Goel

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