The seventh edition of the Everest Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge (BKCC) got underway in Varanasi on Friday with participation from hotel management students, chefs and hospitality professionals. Varanasi was chosen as the starting point for BKCC Season 7, which will now move through 19 cities before ending with the national finale in Mumbai. Organizers said the multi-city format is intended to give hospitality students from different parts of the country a chance to compete on the same platform.
BKCC Season 7 Brings India’s Regional Cuisine into Focus
Speaking at the opening session, Publisher Ekkta Bhargava said the current edition continues with the theme “Flavours of India”. She said the competition encourages participants to look beyond popular dishes and learn about regional food traditions from across the country. According to her, preserving local recipes is equally important because they reflect the culture and identity of every region. She also said promoting traditional cuisine can help attract travellers who want to experience authentic local food during their visits.
The competition will also include Better Kitchen Bakery Champion, Better Kitchen F&B Young Masters Challenge and the Enzo Housekeeping Olympiad. National winners will receive cash awards while their institutes will also be recognised for mentoring young talent.
The Varanasi round was judged by chefs Ravikant Pathak, Vivek Kadam, Chandan Singh and Shiviam Dixit. Officials from Bharatgas, Everest and the Ministry of Tourism attended the programme.
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In the culinary challenge, Vaishali Tripathi and Shipra Verma won the first prize with Team Everest Shahi Paneer Masala. Sakshi Gupta and Ashish Srivastava secured the second position while Manasi Singh and Manish Kumar finished third.
