The Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) held an exciting culinary competition at the École Ducasse India in Gurugram: DistinGU-ISH-ED from February 10 to 12.

The event gathered a total of 288 participants, of which 130 were 10th-grade students, 85 professional chefs, and 73 home cooks and bakers. All of them had to demonstrate their culinary skills and were evaluated based on parameters such as quality and flavor of the dishes, organization, knife skills, cooking techniques, creativity in presentation, and food safety practices.

”We are delighted to witness the remarkable talent and passion demonstrated at the ultimate culinary competition at École Ducasse India. The event served as a distinctive platform for culinary enthusiasts to present their skills and creativity, embodying the spirit of culinary excellence and innovation at the Indian School of Hospitality. I once again congratulate all the participants and winners for their outstanding performances and contributions to the vibrant culinary community,” said Dr Zubin D’Souza, Dean – Culinary Studies.

On February 10, culinary and pastry arts students had to show their skills in:

• Mocktails / Cocktails: Sanwar Zara Bahadur (first prize), Vasudha Sharma (second prize), and Rishi Agarwal (third prize).
• Plated Desserts: Kasireddy Royal Narendra Reddy (first prize), Mehak Gupta (second prize), and Khushi Chaudhary & Khushi Maheshwari (third prize).
• Cake Decorating: Jia Bhamgara (first prize), Ria Kaur Anand (second prize), and Shiva Seth (third prize).
• Three Course Set Menu: Schuyler Periera (first prize), Ira Bansal (second prize) and Raveena Bisht (third prize).
• Students With Special Needs: Ansh Malik, Anisha Khosla, Shashank Arora.

On February 11, home cooks and bakers demonstrated their know-how in traditional family cooking:

• Grandma’s Recipe: Mehjabeen Khan (first prize), Shubham Arora (second prize), and Yulia Plutkova (third prize).
• Parent & Child (Live): Jia & Dinaz Bhamgara (first prize), Min & Toby Lee (second prize), and Mahil Iniya Cholan & Karmugil Bhaskar (third prize).
• Desserts / Sweets: Sarika Jadhav (first prize), Sanwar Zara Bahadur (second prize), and Kishore Kannan (third prize).

Finally, on February 12, professional chefs competed in several categories, including a three-course set menu, plated desserts, artisanal bread display, sculptured cake, and a mystery box challenge. The winners were:

• Three Course Set Menu: Sowdagar Zaeema Khan (first prize), Grace Denny Luke (second prize), and Madhvendra Singh (third prize).
• Plated Desserts: Pritika Pant (first prize), Sana Khan (second prize), and Natalia Peters & Chef Raagini Poddar (third prize).
• Artisanal Bread Display: Mahesh Kumar (second prize)
• Sculptured Cake/ Celebration Cake/ Wedding Cake: Gurneesh Kaur (first prize), Rakshita Maini (second prize), and Lenin Kumar (third prize).
• Mystery Box Category: Piyush Rawat, Schuyler Periera, Tarveen Kaur.

DistinGU-ISH-ED was organized in collaboration with the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), an association that highlighted ISH’s commitment to fostering culinary excellence and innovation in the country.