Galway International Hotel School, GMIT, hosts the 2018 European Region of Gastronomy Young Chef competition

Friday, December 21, 2018 Jacinta Dalton
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2018 European Region of Gastronomy Young Chef competition

On Monday, 26th November, 2018, Galway International Hotel School, GMIT, hosted the 2018 European Region of Gastronomy Young Chef competition in conjunction with The FoodieForum educational platform.

Ten young chefs from countries throughout Europe including Galway’s Andrew Ishmael contested the title of European Young Chef which was won in 2017 by GMIT’s Aisling Rock.

The competition took place in GMIT over two days, where the young chefs were tasked with the preparation of a traditional dish on day one of the competition and on day two, demonstrate their innovation on that traditional dish. 

The competition was won by the Danish competitor Andreas Bjerring from Aarhus, Central Denmark in what was described by the chairperson of the Jury, JP McMahon as “a very difficult decision for the jury,  as the standard was very high by all ten competitors” .

Head of Department of Culinary Arts, Jacinta Dalton, said: 

"It was a great honour for the Galway International Hotel School to host this European competition and to welcome so many nationalities to GMIT and to Galway.

We are all very proud of Andrew Ishmael, he was an exceptional Ambassador for GMIT throughout the competition and his passion for local produce and his support of regional producers was inspiring and no doubt will future proof his career. We wish Andrew continued success on his culinary journey.”

Jacinta also added:

"I would also like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Andrew’s mentor, Culinary Lecturer Sadie Davoren. We could not host competitions like this without the input and support from all the team in the Galway International Hotel School and indeed the support team throughout GMIT which is greatly appreciated.

I would also like to thank our competition sponsors – Nisbet’s Catering supplies who partnered with us for this competition. This competition is one of the many opportunities open to students of the Galway International Hotel School and we look forward to our students participating in further competitions in 2019.”