Along with the trophy, Randrianasolo received a gold medal and was handed over a cheque for $10,000. She also won the award for Best Hygienic Practice.

The silver trophy went to Romania’s Bogdan-Petru-Alin Vandici of ICEP Hotel School and the bronze went to England’s Luke Hayward from the University College of Birmingham.

Randrianasolo said: “I am honoured to win this recognition from IIHM at YCO 19. I want to thank them all for this wonderful opportunity and I am overwhelmed to have won this trophy and prize.”

There were 50 nations who competed in the six-day event across four cities in India. After three rounds of cooking France was crowned the winner of the IIHM YCO on 2 February 2019.

Dr Suborno Bose, chairman of the YCO 2019 committee, added: “It is indeed heart-warming to see the extraordinary response that the Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) has received from the hospitality and culinary industry globally, with 50 countries participating in YCO 2019.

“YCO is emerging as an annual global convention for the culinary stars of tomorrow. Today, standing at the closing ceremony of the fifth Young Chef Olympiad, I feel that this platform is about bringing the world together.

“It’s about global harmony, coming together, bonding cultures and making ‘one world’. Young chef Olympiad is much bigger than just a cooking competition; it is a platform for the united world of young chefs.”

Winners in other categories:

• The Best Dessert Dish in Round 1: Ahmed Alawadhi from Bahrain.
• Shakuntala Devi Award for Best Vegetarian Dish Creation in Round 2: Andrea Guardiani from Italy.
• Best Hygienic Practice Awards: Jordan McKenzie of Scotland, Henry Tan Jung Ming from Singapore and Randrianasolo of France.
• Best Ambassador Awards: Ryan Malone of Ireland, Eden Frank of New Zealand and Gizem Öznacar from Switzerland.
• The Mentors Nomination Awards: Elina Seguin of Canada, Daniel Busuttil of Malta and Jordan Mckenzie of Scotland.
• The Rising Star Award (Delhi rounds): Yea Rim Kim of South Korea.
• The Rising Star Award (Pune round): Tafadzwa Nigel Siyanga from Zimbabwe.
• The Welcome Skills Special Achievement Award: Aqsa Iqbal of Bangladesh.

Mitchelin chef John Wood, who was a senior judge at YCO2019, commented: “IIHM is going great. Their hospitality and organisation of the event is fantastic. As far as the competition is concerned, I think the standard is great.

“From the judges’ point of view, we should try to educate and guide these students who are in a learning experience, not just a competition.” 

To watch the highlights of the YCO2019, visit: https://youtu.be/X8hH51v5N34