PHDCCI kickstarts grand contest to preserve Indian culinary heritage
The North Zone round of the PHDCCI National Young Chef Competition (NYCC) was successfully conducted on 6 August 2025 at Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management (AIHM), Chandigarh. The event brought together 11 leading hospitality institutes from across North India, competing in a live culinary challenge under the theme ‘Celebrating Indian Culinary Heritage: Blending Tradition with Innovation’.
Participating institutes included: Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management, New Delhi; Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management; Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Chandigarh; Indian Culinary Institute, Noida; IHM Gurdaspur; IHM Hamirpur; IHM Kufri; IHM Lucknow; IHM Pusa; International Institute of Culinary Arts, New Delhi; and The Lalit Suri Hospitality School, Haryana.
The jury panel was chaired by Chef Anil Grover, Certified WorldChefs Judge and included Chef Nand Lal Sharma, Deputy General Manager, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation; Chef Sanjiv Verma, Chef & Partner, Pashtun Restaurant; and Chef Deepak Sarkar, Executive Chef, Hyatt Regency Chandigarh.
The event was graced by Chef Manjit Gill, President, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA); Chef Sudhir Sibal, Founder Member, IFCA 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:
In parallel, a Career Sensitization Workshop was organized for Class 11 and 12 students from THSC-empaneled schools. The session featured a career talk by Mr. Abhishek Anand, Vice President – Assessment and Certification, THSC.
The East Zone Round is scheduled to be held on 18 September 2025 at IHM Kolkata, followed by West and South Zone rounds later this year.
NYCC is supported by a consortium of industry partners including TATA Consumer Products, Nestle Professional, Cremica Food Industries Ltd, Venus Industries Ltd, Hospitality & Kitchen Solutions (HAKS), Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Welbilt India (Merrychef & Convotherm), McCain Foods, Mann Fleet Partners, Chefs Unlimited, Purchasing Professional Forum – India (PPFI) and Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum (HPMF).