International Salon Culinaire returns for 2021

The International Salon Culinaire competition will have a hybrid format this year, with live events taking place alongside online competitions from across the country.

The competition usually takes place at the Hotel, Restaurant & Catering event, which is now scheduled to take place in 2022.

The International Salon Culinaire competition, which will run from February to June 2021, is a platform for the country’s up and coming chefs, and will include online and Covid-19-safe live competitions, judged by leading chefs. In addition to the competitions, a series of skills masterclasses will be streamed, hosted by previous gold medal-winning culinary experts.

The competition, organised by the Montgomery Group, is supported by Compass Group UK & Ireland. Nick Vadis, culinary director, Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “After what has been an extremely tough year for our industry it has become clear that having a goal to work towards is imperative to staying positive during challenging times.”

“We jumped at the chance to take part in helping our community rebuild confidence and we are looking forward to shining a light on the plethora of budding talent that may not have been seen this year.”

The Worshipful Company of Cooks will sponsor the student and apprentice-focused Salon Skills competitions, run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs, which will take place simultaneously at multiple colleges across the country.

The Tilda Chef Team of the Year award will be one of the live competitions taking place under Covid-safe conditions in a London venue, and Custom Culinary (Griffiths Foods) is sponsoring the Plant Forward Challenge, a new virtual competition where plant-based ingredients are the ‘flavour hero’ of the competitors’ dish.

Steve Munkley, Salon Culinaire chef-director, said: “After the impact of the pandemic on our industry, what better time to organise some live cooking and virtually run competitions, showcasing them on our website and on all our digital channels to lift people’s spirits! The hospitality industry, but especially chefs, are very resilient, so let’s make Salon Culinaire 2021 as special as it was in March 2020.”

A schedule of competitions and the 2021 entry form is available on the Salon Culinaire website