Young chef from London overcomes last-minute glitch, wins IIHM Olympiad
Telegraph | 11 February 2025
A young chef from England whose blender broke down in the middle of a fish preparation for the final round of a culinary contest was still able to work his way around and emerge the winner among participants from 50 countries.
“In life, problems come unannounced and one has to find a way around it,” said Kamran Taylor, a day after he returned to London.
Taylor was the champion at the 11th edition of IIHM International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) in Calcutta on Saturday.
The 18-year-old who works as a commis in a restaurant in London will graduate in July from Westminister Capital City College, said his goal was to work in as many places as he can but aspires to own a restaurant one day.
“A competition like this prepares you for life. If things go wrong midway, one should be able to think and try to fix it instead of fretting,” said Taylor.
He recalled that the blender stopped working about an hour into the final round. This was after he had completed filleting the fish.
“I was blending the fish when the blender stopped working, I panicked initially. But instead of losing time, I changed my plan and shifted to preparing the dessert while the blender was replaced,” he said.
“Things go wrong all the time with everything in life, so it’s about how you go about fixing them.”
For the final round, Taylor prepared a fish mousse (fish with egg and creme) for the main course and a chocolate delice with walnut biscuit for dessert.
Suborno Bose, chairman, YCO, said while culinary skills were important, a positive attitude gave participants an edge.
“Thinking quickly on the ground, taking decisions, being calm, having the right attitude and never giving up are important,” said Bose, founder of the International Institute of Hotel Management.
Bose said in the first round, Taylor had messed up the choux pastry but his mentor told him it was not always about the end but the start.
“Once he got into the final leg, he was unstoppable. You need to have the right challenge to embrace failure and that is the hallmark of winners all over the world,” said Bose.
The eight-day championship was organised by IIHM in partnership with International Hospitality Council (IHC), London.
Taylor grew up watching cookery shows on television until the Covid pandemic lockdown, which is when, at 14, he started experimenting in the kitchen and making food for his family.
“I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. My family enjoys the food I prepare and they want me to keep cooking. Their favourite is the banana cake that I make,” said Taylor.
Taylor was accompanied by his mentor Christopher Basten.
Though the competition was in February, Taylor began preparing with his mentor in November, the young chef said.
“In November, we were developing dishes and exchanging ideas. It was after the December break that I started practising preparing a meal three times a week,” he said.
The practice sessions went on for two-and-a-half hours after a full day at college, where he is doing a level-3 culinary arts professional chef diploma.
Saturdays and Sundays were taken up by his job as a trainee at a busy restaurant in London.
“We practised. We had to change things so it looked better, tasted better and was more sustainable with less wastage,” said Taylor.
“For example, I used up the heads and shells of prawns to make a stock and then a sauce out of it instead of wasting them.”
In India for the first time, the chef in him enjoyed the food and said the spices made the cuisine richer in taste.
“In Goa, we had butter chicken and I felt it was 10 times better than what we get in England,” he said.
In Calcutta, Taylor enjoyed nolen gur-er sandesh, which he described as a “sweet with a jaggery syrup”.