Nine young, talented chefs from hotels and restaurants in Turkey participated in the Bailliage’s 2018 National Final held at Le Cordon Bleu Centre of Excellence at Özyeğin University in Istanbul. Bailli Délégué Mohamed Hammam was President of the Competition.

Each competitor was given a very rich mystery basket with various ingredients. They had 30 minutes to explore the content of the ‘black box’ and compose a three course menu of starter, main course and dessert. Then it was into the kitchen with three and a half hours to cook their menus for four persons.

The competitors were judged by two professional kitchen judges and nine tasting judges. The principal sponsors were Le Cordon Bleu and Özyeğin University, Metro Cash and Carry who sponsored the entire black box of ingredients and Wüsthof, who donated the sets of knives given to the three winners.

Winners of this year’s competition:
- Gold Medal: Kahan Yavas from Swissôtel Büyük Efes, Izmir
- Silver Medal: Hakan Altunbas from Swissôtel The Bosphorus, Istanbul
- Bronze Medal: İbrahim Koçubez, Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul

The winner, Kahan Yavas, will represent Turkey in the International Final to be held in Keelung City, Taiwan, on September 7th.

On behalf of the National Council, I would like to congratulate the winners, to thank our sponsors, the entire judging panel and all who were involved in the organization of this successful event. In particular a special mention is due to Conseiller Culinaire Erich Ruppen, Chargé de Presse Yves Léon and Defne Tüysüzoğlu, Director of Le Cordon Bleu Turkey.

Vive la Chaîne!

Mohamed Hammam
Bailli Délégué