Kyiv hosts Culinary Battles final to crown best student chef
Photo: Facebook / Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project
On February 27, the Culinary Battle final unfolded as schoolchildren from six Ukrainian regions vied for the title of the nation's best young chef. Ten teams, each comprising students from vocational education institutions serving as mentors, prepared their culinary creations.
The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project reported this on Facebook.
"This event transcends a mere culinary competition; it provides participants the opportunity to explore the profession, gain firsthand experience, and savor the potential of their future careers," the post noted.
In the final, 10 teams of schoolchildren and vocational school students, who acted as mentors, prepared dishes from a collection of school meal recipes.
"Chili con carne, vegetable paella, banana pancakes – sounds appetizing? And even cooler – to cook it yourself and impress the jury, which included First Lady Olena Zelenska, Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Felix Baumann, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovy and chef Yevhen Klopotenko," the message adds.
Photo: Facebook / Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project
Each team's dish was evaluated according to criteria such as taste, originality of presentation, adherence to cooking techniques, and compliance with the recipe.
Photo: Facebook / Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project
The schoolchildren had to prepare a main course and dessert in one hour. Among others, they made the following dishes:
- chili con carne with chicken;
- vegetable paella with turmeric;
- pancakes with banana and vanilla;
- citrus cookies, etc.
Photo: Facebook / Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project
"It is important that schoolchildren can test the professions of a chef, a confectioner, before choosing their path. I could not even dream of such a thing in my childhood. In addition, the teenagers were mentored by students of vocational schools. This is a great opportunity to gain experience and practical knowledge from those who are already acquiring professions. I am sure that after such a test drive, the number of students in vocational schools will increase," Yevhen Klopotenko said.
Notably, Anastasiia Badaieva from Chernihiv emerged victorious. Alongside her mentor, Viktoriia Kramar, they impressed the jury with their dishes of lazy dumplings and shpundra.
Photo: Facebook / Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project
"It turned out to be very difficult to be a judge. After all, I was rooting for each participant, rejoicing that at such a young age they have such an inspired passion," Zelenska noted.
The collection of recipes recommended for children's nutrition in educational institutions contains all the recipes that the children cooked. This collection was developed within the framework of the Strategy for Reforming the School Nutrition System.
"It is important that the younger generation of Ukrainians choose their future in Ukraine. And for this, it is necessary that children from an early age can determine the professions that are most interesting to them and for which they have a talent. That is why we support the development of career guidance in the project and, together with Cult Food and Yevhen Klopotenko, came up with a wonderful competition for students in grades 8-9 – "Culinary Battle".
The idea is that children with a talent for culinary professions learn more about them with mentors—students of vocational schools. This year, more than 250 schoolchildren from 6 regions of Ukraine and more than 60 students of vocational schools were selected for the competition's finals. Next year, we hope to include all regions of the country so that teenagers can discover the world of professions as widely as possible and build a successful career at home," Valentina Poltorak, manager of the Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE, said.
For reference:
On February 28, Rubryka wrote that Ukraine is hosting a "Culinary Battles" competition. The president's wife, Olena Zelenska, became a member of the jury of the event, which was attended by schoolchildren from six regions of the country.
It should be noted that the first culinary hub for training chefs and retraining personnel for educational institutions was opened in the Mykolaiv region on the basis of a vocational college.
In 2020, Klopotenko became an ambassador for the vocational education reform, which involves updating approaches to training chefs, creating a new standard for this profession, and improving the qualifications of teachers.
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