National Culinary Team Finland. Photo: IKA/Culinary Olympics
Four days of culinary spectacle in Stuttgart: Since the opening of the IKA/Culinary Olympics last Friday, more than 1,200 international chefs have provided moments of pleasure at the Stuttgart trade fair grounds. The Olympic champions have now been crowned: finally, it was Finland that came out on top of the superlative culinary competition.
Text Anna Häuser
“Four days, more than 1,200 participants from 55 nations and over 7,000 menus: The IKA/Culinary Olympics is a culinary competition of superlatives and the 26th edition of this event with a long tradition was a great success,” says VKD President Daniel Schade. “The atmosphere was captivating and special from start to finish. We received great feedback from the chefs, fans and guests – we are proud of that.” As the organizer of the IKA, the German Chefs’ Association (VKD) congratulates the winners of the Culinary Olympics. “All of the participants put fantastic performances on the plates and showed what true culinary artistry looks like,” says Daniel Schade. “We would like to thank all the chefs for being here in Stuttgart and are already looking forward to returning in 2028 for the 27th IKA/Culinary Olympics – again in Stuttgart and again alongside Intergastra.”
At the IKA/Culinary Olympics, international culinary talents are given a stage to showcase their skills. All participants are passionate about the cooking profession and once again provided great taste experiences and visual highlights that will be remembered. In the National Team category, Finland ultimately won the competition and took home “Olympic” gold. The team impressed the jury with its precision and artistic craftsmanship. The team from Switzerland followed close behind in second place, winning the silver medal for their outstanding performance. Bronze went to Iceland in the National Team category. The German National Team achieved ninth place in the overall ranking.
As in 2020, Sweden won gold in the Junior National Team category, defending its Olympic title. Norway took second place and silver. Denmark took bronze. The German Junior National Team came fifth.
There were special results this time in the Community Catering and Live Carver categories: The Compass Group Culinary Team Finland and the Swiss Armed Forces Culinary Team/SACT were rated equal on points by the jury to three decimal places. They therefore shared first place in the Community Catering Teams category and both received gold. The Norway Community Catering Team follows in third place with the bronze medal. In the Live Carvers category, An Xuan Li (Taiwan) and Tereza Buchtova (Czech Republic) shared first place. Kuan Ju Li (Taiwan) took the bronze medal.
the winners in the different kategories
NATIONAL teams
- Gold for Finland
- Silver for Switzerland
- Bronze for Iceland
JUnior national teams
- Gold for Sweden
- Silver for Norway
- Bronze for Denmark
Community Catering Teams
- Gold for Compass Group Culinary Team Finland, Finland
- Gold for Swiss Armed Forces Culinary Team / SACT, Switzerland
- Bronze for Norway Community Catering Team, Norway
REGIONAL Teams
- Gold for PaisWorld Culinary Team Korea, South Korea
- Silver for Skåne Kulinar, Sweden
- Bronze for Cercle des Chefs de Cuisine Lucerne, Switzerland
Live Carvers
- Gold for An Xuan Li, Taiwan
- Gold for Tereza Buchtova, Czech Republic
- Bronze für Kuan Ju Li, Taiwan
All medals and the ranking at a glance: www.culinary-olympics.com/ika-2024/medal-table.
