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IKA/Culinary Olympics 2020: Chef’s Table instead of show platters.
As the organizer of the
IKA/Culinary Olympics, the German Chefs’ Association, Verband der Köche
Deutschlands e. V. (VKD), presented the regulations for the world’s largest
culinary exhibition today, Tuesday 6th February. A new element will be the Chef’s Table, which will allow
the visitors to sit right in the kitchen of the national teams and enjoy their
meal. With the leaving out of the show platters, an era will come to an end.
International team representatives welcomed the new regulations.
Stuttgart, 6th February 2018 – For the visitors of the
2020 IKA/Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, sitting at the Chef’s Table is likely
to become the highlight of the event: the guests will sit at tables of ten
directly at the cooking booths, in which the national culinary teams from all
over the world will prepare their culinary delights – and a chat with the chefs
will of course be included. Never before have the visitors of this culinary
contest been able to get so close to the teams. At the 2020 IKA/Culinary
Olympics, the German Association will set new standards regarding international
cooking competitions: for the very first time no cold show platters will be
exhibited by the national teams.
This announcement was made by the
VKD as the organizer of the event on Tuesday, 6th February, during Intergastra in Stuttgart. “With this decision, an
era has come to an end,” explains Hans- Peter Tuschla, Vice President of the
VKD, and as such, responsible for the scope of culinary competitions. Since the
very first edition of the IKA/Culinary Olympics in 1900, the exhibition of cold
platters has always been one of the major attractions of the event. Starting in
2020, the exhibition of cold platters will now be replaced by a Chef’s Table.
“Our decision was made mainly for
two reasons”, explains Mr Tuschla: “The waste of food is an important issue.
This is something we want to actively reduce”, he underlines. The other reason
was to increase transparency during the preparatory phase of the competition.
“The entire cooking process for the Chef’s Table takes place in the cooking
boxes under supervision of the jury and the inquisitive glances of the guests –
which is quite unlike the cold platters which the teams used to bring to the
competition already plated”, explains Mr Tuschla.
This decision was also welcomed by the
Culinary Committee of the World Association of Chefs' Societies (Worldchefs), which
is in charge of the regulations and the training of the jury for all of the
competitions. According to Gert Klötzke, chairman of the Culinary Committee,
the worry that an element of “true culinary art” will be lost, is unfounded. At
the 2016 IKA/Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, the junior national teams exhibited
an “Edible Buffet” instead of a cold platter. “This shows”, he claims, “that
the teams have proven that great culinary art may also be presented in form of
hot dishes”.
Approximately 50 representatives of
national culinary teams from 18 nations travelled to Stuttgart to familiarise
themselves with the new regulations and to check out the on-site conditions.
“The fact that the team representatives travel so far to find out about the
latest requirements, shows their great interest in the IKA/Culinary Olympics”,
explains VKD President Andreas Becker. The modernisations of the competition
were met with a consistently positive response.
Visitors of the IKA/Culinary
Olympics, which will take place from 14th to 19th February 2020, in
conjunction with the Intergastra, will have various options to taste the creations
of the national culinary teams: at the Restaurant of Nations, the menus of both
the junior and senior culinary teams will be available. The national culinary
teams will prepare the Chef’s Table, while the juniors will compete for the
medals in the category “Edible Buffet”. In addition, the community catering
teams will prepare high-quality meals.
Both the categories “Show Piece”,
in which individual exhibitors will show their skills, and the category “Live
Vegetable Carving” will remain unchanged. And just like in past editions of the
contest, there will also be regional culinary teams participating.
The German Chefs’ Association will
provide further information with regard to advance ticket sale dates for the
2020 IKA/Culinary Olympics. The regulations for individual exhibitors will be
available for download soon at www.culinary-olympics.com.
Conditions of Participation for the 2020 IKA/Culinary Olympics can be found here: http://www.olympiade-der-koeche.com/en/competitions/conditions-of-participation.html
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About the IKA/Culinary Olympics:
Dedication and passion, culinary
creations and trends from all parts of the world are what culminates in a
culinary feast of nations at the IKA/Culinary Olympics (International
Exhibition of Culinary Art). In 2016, more than 2,000 chefs and pastry chefs
from over 59 countries competed during this event. This included 32 national
teams, 19 junior teams as well as regional and community catering teams. Over
7,000 fresh menus were presented for the enjoyment of thousands of visitors
from all over the world. At the 2020 Stuttgart event, participants and visitors
will once again wait with great anticipation to discover who will be the new
Olympic Champions.
Since 1900, the world’s oldest
and largest professional competition of chefs and pastry chefs has taken place
every four years in Germany. The event organizer is the German Chefs’
Association, Verband der Köche Deutschlands e. V (VKD). The next event happens
from 14th to 19th February 2020, and will take place in
conjunction with the Intergastra trade show in Stuttgart for the very first
time.
About the Verband der Köche
Deutschlands e. V. (VKD – German Chefs’ Association)
With approximately 9,000 members,
the German Chefs’ Association (VKD) is Germany’s largest chefs’ community. This
community is a key pillar for the professional development of the VKD
membership and for the future of the profession. The VKD is the point of
contact for all topics regarding the culinary profession and supports its
members in every aspect of their profession. VKD-members are both passionate
chefs and apprentices. They rely on an active VKD-network and the competent
contact persons within their own ranks.
