The IKA Culinary Olympics takes place in Stuttgart, Germany during the months of January or February every four years. Broken down into National Teams, Junior National Teams, Regional Teams, and Community Catering and Military Teams, it’s a competition that not only shows off the best in culinary skill and prowess, but also allows people from across the world to come and cook together.
IKA Culinary Olympics Showcases the Best in International Cooking
From the IKA Culinary Olympics website:
Teams from all over the world, gathered together for a unique competition: that’s the IKA/Culinary Olympics. In no other cooking competition do so many professional chefs measure their skills against each other.
5 reasons to be there:
- Olympic spirit
- Culinary highlights
- Exclusive insights
- International variety
- Great tradition
As anyone who has worked in a professional kitchen knows, cooking is more than just a job. It is a matter of pride and joy – something done as much for passion as to make a living. The IKA showcases this passion and offers an international stage for chefs to share their unique visions and skillsets with the world.
The Compass Group Culinary Team, which took home the gold in the Community Catering Teams category, described it this way after their win:
“It is hard to put to words how big of an honor it is to participate in an event like the IKA Olympics. Being given the chance to represent your country and your company is something that we do not take for granted. Getting to be a part of a celebration of culinary excellence like this is something we’ll value and appreciate for the rest of our lives. It was an unforgettable experience that brought appreciation for our work and our industry.”
View the full lists of medal winners here
Kitchen Tools Help Chefs Reach Their Potential
While of course it is the chef who deserves attention for their skill, diligence, and ingenuity, the tools that allow chefs to succeed should not be overlooked. A chef without a knife, after all, is like a painter without a brush, a writer without a pen, magician without a wand.
Tools like NCCO’s DateCodeGenie® automated labelling system help chefs reach their full potential as well, keeping ingredients organised and labels at hand in a quick and efficient manner. As Chef Gordon Carberry said after the competition, the speed and precision with which he was able to create labels for the items he needed made all the difference: Gordon Carberry IKA 2024 Video
And even wowed the judges, as described by Chef Chris Leech: Chris Leech IKA 2024 Video
While helping the Irish team walk away with multiple medals during the competition: Steve Donnellan IKA 2024 Video
Learn more about the DateCodeGenie® and get a free demo
NCCO understands just how important it is to have the right tools in the kitchen – and how these tools can mean the difference between failure and success whether in the IKA Culinary Olympics or just a normal day of work.
Browse our selection of high-quality, chef-focused products and tools and see for yourself how NCCO can help elevate your kitchen to Olympic status.