ICF’s Annual Chef Awards turn 16, the tradition of honouring talent takes giant strides

New Delhi: Chefs not only play a significant role in preparing scrumptious and nutritious delicacies but they also silently put India on the global culinary map. Therefore, a decade and a half ago, Indian Culinary Forum decided and designed the country’s biggest culinary awards ­ — Annual Chef Awards — to recognize and honour the efforts and achievements of chefs. This year, the marquee event will complete 16 glorious years and the milestone will be celebrated in a grander form in October. As the preparations are in full swing, ICF members feel a sense of great pride and pleasure having taken the tradition to bigger glory with a wider reach.  

Gastronomes need to mark their calendars as ICF - Annual Chef Awards along with the Chef Summit promises to be the biggest celebration of food and those who make it delectable – the chefs. Behind the lip-smacking delicacies are the magical fingers of the culinary artists in white coats and hats. On the occasion of International Chefs’ Day, one can witness the chefs getting felicitated for their extraordinary skills of pleasing taste buds at the Le Meridien on October 21. 

Since its inception in 1987, ICF has continued with its efforts of recognizing and honouring the young talents and veterans of the culinary field. The awards and summit are not only meant to laud these knights in the kitchen but also give a major boost to the popularity of Indian cuisine internationally. These awards that are bestowed upon the chefs motivate the recipients to do better as well as elevate their careers. The last 15 years have been a glorious testament of how the awards have been an incredible instrument for the enhancement and overall development of the national community of chefs. 

The chef Summit that will complete 7 years this time is also another highlight of the glittering event. Every year, it witnesses participation from who’s who of the hospitality sector, educators, food critics, and connoisseurs and aims to create awareness about the profession among people at large. It becomes a melting pot of ideas and knowledge about developing trends. The summit also offers a day-long opportunity for participants to interact personally with their key audiences. The icing on the cake will that the guests will also get to savour gourmet dinner especially prepared by noted chefs and enjoy live cooking. 

In the lead up to the scintillating show, several competitions in 10 different categories will see a participation of over 100 contestants from starred hotels and standalone restaurants. Since the Trade Tests/culinary competition selection process takes 5 days, the competition will be held at RIG Institute of Hospitality & Management, Greater Noida as well as the Academy of Pastry Arts, Gurugram prior to the gala night. Contestants will be judged by chefs and hotel industry stalwarts certified by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS). Noted Malaysian Chef Peter Chan will preside as the Chairperson of the jury in this year’s competitions, while Chef Sireesh Saxena will be the organizing secretary. 

Informing about the award categories Anil Bhandari, Chairman Organizing Committee, says, “We instituted Chef Awards in the year 2004 to recognize and honour Chefs for their contribution to the Hospitality industry and society at large. Our top award categories include Lifetime Achievement Award, Golden Hat Chef Award, Silver Hat Chef Award, Pastry Chef of the Year Award, Lady Chef of the Year Award and Food Critic/Writer Award.”  He added, “Our Master Chef Award Categories include Master Chef of the Year, and for different cuisines like International, Oriental, North Indian, South/East/West Indian, and for kebabs, sweets, bakery, and international confectionery. We would also be awarding one Kitchen Artist and two Student Chef of the Year Awards, each to a boy and girl." 

Chef Davinder Kumar, President Indian Culinary Forum, says, “We have been organizing the Annual Chef Awards since the last 15 years as a part of the celebrations of International Chef’s Day, as our contribution to accredit a Chef as an artist. The objective of Chef Awards is to offer fellow Chefs a professional platform to showcase, exhibit, hone their culinary skills and raise the overall Indian Culinary Art at par with international standards. We assure that it will be a valuable experience for all the Chefs and will maximize their potential and growth in the sector.” 

Chef Vivek Saggar, General Secretary, of Indian Culinary Forum, says, "The aim of Chef Award to recognize, honour and promote culinary excellence among the fraternity of Chefs and encourage youngsters to join the industry. The platform was not merely a competition as chefs will be able to keep themselves updated with modern techniques and mechanisms that are used in kitchens across the world. This year ICF has tied up with Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council as the Skill Partner to promote and contribute to the Government’s Skill India Mission by providing the right platform.” 

ABOUT INDIAN CULINARY FORUM 

Indian Culinary Forum: The Indian Culinary Forum is India’s association of Professional chefs of India. It was formed in New Delhi in 1987 as an exclusive non-profit-making organization, dedicated solely to the advancement of the culinary art of India. The Forum’s objective is to act as a link, a platform and an instrument for the enhancement and overall development of the national community of chefs. The World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) is 110-nation fellowship comprising the world’s various professional chefs’ organization representing over 9 million professional chefs. The ICF has an international culinary focus in the staging of its various competitions, seminars, and events. The aims of the ICF, broadly, are:

• To encourage and inspire junior chefs through training and competition

• To enhance international, the culinary prestige to India

• To encourage Indian nationals to consider a career within the hospitality industry

• To promote Indian Cuisine globally

• To help young chefs to hone culinary skills through training, workshops, and competition