The competition is planned to be made annual, and in the future, representatives from other regions will be invited to participate.
The Lviv region has announced the start of a regional competition among students of vocational (vocational) education institutions - “Authentic Dishes of Ukraine”. The competition is aimed at preserving unique recipes of Ukrainian cuisine that are passed down from generation to generation, as well as at popularizing the gastronomic heritage of the regions. Students of vocational education institutions in the Lviv region who are studying the professions of “cook”, “confectioner” and “baker” will take part in it.
“Each country has dishes that are inherent in its culture. Our authentic recipes are a part of national identity that deserves to be preserved. In order to interest young people in studying and passing on gastronomic heritage, we, together with the educational and methodological center, initiated the competition “Authentic Dishes of Ukraine”. The task of the participants will be to find unique recipes and recreate them, combining traditional technologies with the capabilities of modern culinary equipment,” said Oleg Paska, director of the Department of Education and Science.
The competition aims to:
popularize forgotten recipes that are being lost due to globalization;
support gifted youth;
preserve local culinary features of regions;
emphasize the value of intangible cultural heritage through national cuisine.
The competition will be held in two stages. In the first, students submit recipes for consideration by the commission at the educational institution, indicating the region of origin and information about the person who passed on the recipe. Only one winner from each educational institution will participate in the second, final stage.
“The first stage will be held in vocational education institutions where there are specialties of chef, confectioner, baker and others related to gastronomy. The winners of this stage will take part in the regional final, where they will have the opportunity to recreate the dishes presented. Our ultimate goal is to create an electronic catalog with video applications that will show the cooking process of each dish in detail,” said Oleg Paska.
The evaluation of participants will be open and objective. The jury will include independent experts: professional chefs, educators and representatives of public organizations. The winners will receive diplomas and prizes. It is planned to award one first place, two second and three third places. Information about the authors of the recipes will also be posted in the electronic catalog.
“Out of 48 vocational education institutions in the region, 27 provide training in the relevant specialties. This is a significant number of students, and the competition will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the level of their professional training. After internal selection, each institution will present one winner who will compete at the regional level. The competition will be evaluated by an independent jury, which will include chefs from leading Ukrainian restaurants,” said Volodymyr Bobko, director of the Educational and Methodological Center for Vocational and Technical Education in the Lviv region.
Educational institutions can submit recipes of different categories — both main dishes and desserts.
According to Volodymyr Bobko, the Lviv Professional College of Hotel, Tourism and Restaurant Service, which has a modern material and technical base, will provide all the necessary conditions for holding the final round. This will allow participants to maximize their professional skills.
The final stage of the competition is tentatively scheduled for June 3.
The competition is planned to be made annual, and in the future, representatives from other regions will be invited to participate.
