About the competition

The competition’s history dates back to 2001, when the competition’s first edition was held. Ever since then, Polish Culinary Cup has been developing and winning more and more recognition in the gastronomy environment. The competition’s objective is to motivate cooks to master their skills as well as develop them. The competition has a favorable formula and a winners-dedicated prize, namely an abroad training in renowned foreign restaurants supervised by master chefs.

Recognition of the international gastronomy environment

Undoubtedly, the fact that the competition is supported by such organizations as Fundacja Klubu Szefów Kuchni (Chefs’ Club Association) Stowarzyszenie Euro-Toques Polska (Euro-Toques Association Poland) and Ogólnopolskie Stowarzyszenie Szefów Kuchni i Cukierni (Polish Association of Chefs and Confectioners), which took auspices over the event, is a great success of the competition. The competition also gained interest among the international gastronomy environment. This is confirmed in the way of a formal recommendation given by the WACS, World Association of Chefs Societies.

Top class judges

No competition can take place without judges, people whose knowledge and skills make it possible to provide fair assessment of the competition. The organizers of the PCC pay a lot of attention to jury composition. We are doing our best to have international gastronomy experts among the jury. Therefore, we invite not only outstanding cooks from Poland, but also foreign culinary masters, including those from Michelin-awarded restaurants, says Donata Paszkiewicz, the Project Director.

Such famous personas as Gissur Gudmundsson, Armand Steinmetz, Jean-Bernard Mahut, Malin Söderström, Loïc Malfait, Vogel Waynand, Miroslav Kubec, Jonas Larsson, Daniel Ayton, Sebastian Frank, Sebastian Pettersson, Alain Hostert, Sean Owens assessed the competitions so far. In the PCC Final, Poland was represented by Zenon Hołubowski, Jerzy Pasikowski, Jarosław Walczyk, Jean Bos, PAweł Mieszała as well as Jarosław Uściński.

Clear competition rules

The Polish Culinary Cup is participated by those cooks who have won one of the nominated competitions. The list including them is agreed upon every year by the PCC Program Board. The Board also decides about the assessment system. At present, the PCC and other nominated competitions are assessed according to the same criteria and grading system. This way, the assessment system of cooks is standardized, thus making the nominated competitions as well as the PCC more transparent.

Competition formula:

• the participants of the nominated competitions are directly qualified for the final of the Polish Culinary Cup, not for the semi-final
• the final competition lasted two days
• each team prepares an appetizer, dessert and a main dish during 5h.

Professional development trampoline

The winner’s title “Best of the best” is a proof and acknowledgement of his knowledge, skills and creativity. It is a pass for the future development, actively participated by the PCC organizers, as one of the awards for the winner is an apprenticeship in a recognizable foreign restaurant or culinary academy. The trainers share their knowledge of work organization in a kitchen, the way of combining ingredients and the menu, as well as the strategies of a restaurant operation. Additionally, there are different meetings where the laureate of the PCC has an opportunity to get to know the secrets of a particular cuisine.