Taylor’s Andrew Ou made Malaysia proud by winning second place at the IIHM Young Chef Olympiad in India

(Left to right) Andrew Ou with Dr. Subomo Bose, Chairman, Young Chef Olympiad, and lecturer and mentor, Chef Farouk Othman

Andrew Ou Kai Peng, Taylor’s University final year Bachelor of Culinary Art and Foodservice Management students, won silver for Malaysia in the Young Chef Olympiad in India, recently.

The 3rd International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) Young Chef Olympiad, was open to the best young chefs all around the world and over 40 countries including Malaysia, Singapore, USA, Canada, France, Spain and India participated. Participants were divided into two groups and competed in three rounds across four cities – New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Calcutta.

Led by Professor David Foskett as head judge, a pioneer of the industry, a member of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in Britain and the Head of the London School of Hospitality and Tourism, the judges were divided into three different groups: technical, tasting and interaction. The technical judges looked at the entire process of performance, analysing multiple aspects like techniques and skills; the tasting judges tasted the food and assessed it on the basis of the presentation, flavor and other similar key elements; whereas the interactive judges interviewed the participants on their presented meals and performances.

Mathew Tham from At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, Singapore, won the Young Chef Olympiad 2017 title by one point from Andrew who came in second and Selah Schmoll of Canadian Food And Wine Institute, Niagara College, Canada, finished in third place. Puja Mishra of IIHM, representing India, took home the best cooked vegetarian dish title.

“It took me around 2months of intensive training with my mentor, Chef Farouk Othman, Taylor’s University Senior Lecturer and Chef, to prepare for the competition. I am grateful for his guidance and his faith in me as this is my first cooking competition. Chef Faro