Regional culinary talent shines at NYCC East
The East Zone round of the PHDCCI National Young Chef Competition (NYCC) was conducted on 18 September 2025 at Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Kolkata. The event brought together 11 leading hospitality institutes from across East India, competing in a live culinary challenge under the theme ‘Celebrating Indian Culinary Heritage: Blending Tradition with Innovation’.
Participating institutes included: Gurunanak Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata; ICFAI University, Sikkim; Institute of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Kolkata; IHM, Bhubaneswar; IHM, Kolkata; JIS University, Kolkata; Medhavi Skill University, Sikkim; NIPS Bhubaneswar; NIPS Kolkata; NIPS Ranchi; State Institute of Hotel Management, Durgapur.
The jury panel was chaired by Chef Anil Grover, Certified WorldChefs Judge and included Chef Abhiru Biswas, President, Eastern India Culinary Association (EICA); Chef Sandeep Kumar Pandey, General Secretary, EICA; Chef Kavitha Unni, Executive Sous Chef, Taj Bengal Kolkata; and Chef Debjeet Majumdar, Co-Founder, Passion for Hospitality.
The event was graced by Chef Manjit Gill, President, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA); Dr. Nitin Shankar Nagrale, Founder & General Secretary, HPMF; and Ms. Shalini S Sharma, Assistant Secretary General, PHDCCI.
Two teams were selected to advance to the Grand Finale scheduled in New Delhi in January 2026, while one team was declared runner-up:
The event was supported by zonal partner – Lee Kum Kee and national partners – TATA Consumer Products, Nestle Professional, Cremica Food Industries, Venus Industries, Hospitality & Kitchen Solutions (HAKS), Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Welbilt India (Merrychef & Convotherm), McCain Foods, Chefs Unlimited, Eastern India Culinary Association (EICA), Purchasing Professional Forum – India (PPFI) and Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum (HPMF).