The talented Aruban youngster Mariël Willems is one of the finalists to compete at the re-known Youth Culinary Competition (YCO) for the IIHM, International Young Chef Olympiad. Willems, after graduating from EPI in Aruba last year, continued her study at Luzerne, Switzerland, where she studied at a higher education level at the culinary faculty Business and Hotel Management School (B.H.M.S). The school is a frequent participant at YCO and many students have taken part in this international competition. In this case the winner for Switzerland was our own Aruban Mariël Willems.
The YCO competition celebrates the diversity and multi culture of all culinary around the world. This will be the seventh edition, which due to the pandemic will take place virtually. A total of 50 countries will take part of this, including Switzerland, who is being represented by an Aruban.
Every participant must prepare the three dishes in their own kitchen in the time stipulated. The judges will be monitoring the whole process. Some of the well-known judges are Chef John Wood from UK, Chef Andreas Muller of Hong Kong and Chef Enzo Oliveri from Italy. Willems successfully finished the challenges and is one of the finalists of this competition. Other categories in this competition are ‘Best Vegetarian Dish’, ‘Best Hygiene Practice’ and ‘Sustainability’.
The competition is organized by the International Institute of Hotel Management, which is homebased in India, together with the International Hospitality Council London and started last Sunday. It consists of two rounds. The winner will take home a trophy and the prize money of 10.000 dollars. They will be acknowledged for their ability also by well-known experts of the culinary and hospitality industry.
