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The Best Bhaja Dish award was conferred upon Chef’s Kitchen Institute of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management, Kolhapur
Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts and Nutritional Sciences, Pune emerged as the Winner of the maiden PHDCCI National Young Chef Competition (NYCC) 2025–26, at the Grand Finale held at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Pusa, New Delhi. Maharashtra State IHMCT, Pune and IHM Pusa, New Delhi were declared the 1st Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up, respectively. The Best Bhaja Dish award was conferred upon Chef’s Kitchen Institute of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management, Kolhapur.
Gracing the occasion as Chief Guest, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, said, “Indian cuisine is among our most powerful cultural assets and a vital pillar of tourism-led growth. Our food traditions reflect the diversity, wisdom and lived heritage of our regions, and our young chefs are the torchbearers of this legacy.” He noted that rapid urbanisation and changing consumption patterns offer Indian chefs a unique opportunity to lead innovation in value-added, nutritionally balanced and ready-to-eat food solutions rooted in traditional knowledge systems. “Platforms like NYCC nurture chefs who are deeply rooted in tradition yet globally confident, capable of representing India’s culinary excellence on the world stage,” he added.
The Grand Finale brought together 10 leading hospitality institutions representing all four zones of the country—Asian Christian Culinary & Agricultural Science Institute, Hosur; Chef’s Kitchen Institute of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management, Kolhapur; Culinary Academy of India, Hyderabad; IHM Bhubaneswar; IHM Kolkata; IHM Kufri; IHM Pusa, New Delhi; IHM Hyderabad; Maharashtra State IHMCT, Pune; and Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts and Nutritional Sciences, Pune—highlighting the pan-India character of the competition.
The finalists were evaluated by a jury comprising Chef Nand Lal Sharma, Deputy General Manager, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation; Chef Debjeet Majumdar, Consultant Chef & Co-Founder, Passion 4 Hospitality; Chef Nitin Shende, Professor – Food Production, GIHMCT Nagpur; Chef Srinivas V, Executive Chef, Travel Food Services; and Chef M. Prabu, Joint Registrar, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, under the chairmanship of Chef Anil Grover, Certified WorldChefs Judge.
Organised by PHDCCI in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) and the Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), NYCC marked the culmination of a six-month nationwide culinary journey celebrating India’s rich gastronomic heritage while creating a focused national platform for Indian cuisine.
The NYCC Steering Committee comprised Chef Manjit Gill, President, IFCA; Chef Anil Grover, Certified WorldChefs Judge; Chef Sudhir Sibal, Founder Member, IFCA; Rajan Bahadur, CEO, THSC; Prof. Kamal Kant Pant, Principal, IHM Pusa; and Amarjit Singh Ahuja, Director–Procurement, Le Meridien New Delhi.
NYCC was supported by leading industry partners including TATA Consumer Products, Lee Kum Kee, Nestlé Professional, Cremica Food Industries, Venus Industries, Hospitality & Kitchen Solutions (HAKS), Hilton, Roseate Hotels & Resorts, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Welbilt India, McCain Foods, Chefs Unlimited, Le Meridien New Delhi, and the Purchasing Professional Forum India (PPFI), underscoring strong industry confidence in the initiative.