Chennai hosts final zonal round as PHDCCI concludes nationwide National Young Chef Competition journey
The South Zone round of the PHDCCI National Young Chef Competition (NYCC) was held on 23 December 2025 at Dr. M.G.R. Educational & Research Institute, Chennai. The event brought together seven leading hospitality institutes from across South India, competing in a live culinary challenge under the theme ‘Celebrating Indian Culinary Heritage: Blending Tradition with Innovation’.
Participating institutes included: Asian Christian Culinary & Agricultural Science Institute, Hosur; Chennais Amirta International IHM; Culinary Academy of India, Hyderabad; Hindusthan College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore; IHM Shri Shakti, Hyderabad; Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati; and IHM, Hyderabad.
The jury panel was chaired by Chef Anil Grover, Certified WorldChefs Judge and included Chef Ajeeth Janardhanan, Culinary Director, The Residency Towers; Chef Prem Kumar Mahendran, Executive Chef, Welcomhotel Chennai; Chef Natesan Kannan, Chief Coordinator, SICA Junior Forum; and Chef Nageshwaran K, Executive Sous Chef, GRT Hotels & Resorts.
The event was graced by renowned Indian Celebrity Chef, K. Damodharan (Chef Damu).
Three teams were selected to advance to the Grand Finale scheduled in New Delhi on 19 January 2026, while one team was declared runner-up:
The event was supported by partners – TATA Consumer Products, Lee Kum Kee, Nestle Professional, Cremica Food Industries, Venus Industries, Hospitality & Kitchen Solutions (HAKS), Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Welbilt India (Merrychef & Convotherm), McCain Foods, Chefs Unlimited, Dr. M.G.R. Educational & Research Institute, South India Chef’s Association (SICA) and Purchasing Professional Forum – India (PPFI).