In Irkutsk on March 13, a young chefs contest will be held, where teams of two will compete in four stages from presenting their school and a theory test to making a dessert and a hot dish from a black box. The final stage is especially interesting participants will have full freedom for creativity, but they may cook only in a frying pan. A jury of famous chefs will judge not only the taste and originality of the dishes, but also teamwork, cleanliness of the workspace, and timekeeping.

The co-organizers of the event are “Comrades of the Restaurant Business in Siberia” and the Department of Entrepreneurship and Consumer Market Development of the Irkutsk city administration.
As reported by the Public Catering Department of the Irkutsk city administration, the competition will be held in four stages. The first is a presentation of the educational institution in any form. In the second stage, the jury will test the contestants’ theoretical knowledge. The teams will be given test assignments in the following subjects: “Technology of Public Catering Products,” “Physiology, Sanitation and Hygiene,” and “Organization of Storage and Control of Raw Material Stocks.”
The third stage is practical. Young cooks will have to prepare a dessert for two servings in 20 minutes, using prepared semi-finished products. For example, baked pastry bases, jelly, finishing semi-finished products, and others.
The final stage is the most exciting. It uses products provided by the organizers. Hence the name — “black box.” Everything depends on the skills and imagination of each participant. Within an hour, they must prepare one hot dish from the set of products offered. The organizers of the competition decided not to limit the participants’ creative self-expression in any way and give them complete freedom in choosing the dish and ingredients in the fourth stage of the contest. However, there is an important condition: the dish must be prepared by heat treatment only in a frying pan. Contestants are allowed to use their own tools, equipment, kitchen and tableware, and household electrical appliances. The use of disposable gloves is recommended.
Each team consists of two people: a cook and his assistant. The participants must be no older than 20 years.
The jury, which includes well-known chefs of the city, evaluates the contestants according to several criteria: the participants’ appearance, the level of the educational institution presentation, test results, originality of the recipe, dish design, taste qualities, teamwork coordination, compliance with the cooking time limit, and the organization and sanitary condition of the workplace.
Each of the listed criteria is scored on a 10-point scale. The winning team will be awarded a diploma and a valuable prize.
The competition will take place on March 13 at the College of Trade, Service and Tourism of the Institute of Trade of BSUEP at the following address: 105 Baikalskaya St., Irkutsk. Teams from educational institutions involved in training personnel for the public catering industry are invited to participate. The competition starts at 10:00 a.m.
The Angarsk Technical School of Public Catering and Trade, the Baikal College of Tourism and Service (Ulan-Ude), and the College of Trade, Service and Tourism (BSUEP, Irkutsk) have already confirmed their participation.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk city administration.