Team NAIT Culinary prepares to set off for IKA Culinary Olympics 2024
By Maria Mena on October 19, 2023
Team NAIT Culinary is getting ready for the 2024 IKA Culinary Olympics. The team will host three luncheons at Ernest’s to prepare for the competition happening in Stuttgart, Germany, from February 2 to 7, 2024.
“We’ll take eight students with us and three coaches, but not all eight can compete. The way the rules work is four cooks can touch food, we’ll have one person as a dishwasher and one person as a front-of-the-house service person. Basically, there’ll be six people doing stuff during the competition and two alternates,” said Cristopher Short, coach of Team NAIT Culinary and an instructor in the NAIT Culinary program.
The team will compete against professional chefs in the community catering category, showcasing their skills in preparing lunch for 120 people.
“The ultimate goal is the gold medal. For me as a coach, I want the students to experience Germany. I want them to experience competition, get a great experience, start their networking,” said Short.
It will be Team NAIT Culinary’s second time competing in the category after winning a bronze medal in 2020. Tickets for the luncheons have been sold out and are happening on Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and Jan. 14, 2023.