Going for the Gold - The Culinary Olympics
Contrary to popular opinion, the Olympics aren't just for sporting enthusiasts. There's another Olympic competition, designed to challenge the world's top chefs. Founded in 1896 (the same year that saw the return of the modern Olympic Games), the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung is more commonly referred to as the Culinary Olympics. Teams of talented chefs vie with their culinary counterparts from around the world for the prestigious title of "Olympic Winner of Nations." In addition to the main award, they compete for gold medals in a number of individual categories, such as Hors d'oeuvres and Desserts. There's even a junior competition, where up and coming chefs can literally test their skills in the heat of competition.
Understandably, the atmosphere is quite stressful - partial onlookers cheering for their favorite teams, judges wandering through the test kitchens as the teams work, often making do with unfamiliar cooking utensils. Besides ingredient restrictions the competition is timed. For example, in the Hot Kitchen portion (the highlight of the competition) teams have five hours to prepare a three course meal.
Sources:
"Internationale Kochkunst Ausstelling Culinary Olympics," on the
Unichef.com website.
The Culinary Team Canada website.
Update: Results of the 2000 Culinary Olympics.
National Team Results
Grand Champion (1st Place Overall) - Sweden
2nd Place Overall - Singapore
3rd Place Overall - Norway
Results in Individual Categories
1st place in the hor's d'oeuvres category - Canada
1st place in the cold food plate category - United States
1st place in the patisserie category - Singapore
1st place in the hot food category - Singapore
Do you have what it takes to be a culinary Olympian? Test your culinary prowess
in this fun quiz.
