The Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, together with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), is launching the annual Best School Cook competition. Starting today, registration is open for those ready to prove that school meals can be delicious, nutritious, and creative!
First launched in 2019, this competition has become a beloved annual tradition. It gives school cooks the opportunity to showcase their culinary talent, creativity, and passion for their profession. The competition helps raise the profile of school cooks and improve the quality of meals served to children.
This year’s participants will face a series of exciting challenges designed to test their skills. These include a knowledge assessment on sanitary and safety regulations, a time-based cooking challenge featuring real school menu dishes, a parental quality control quiz with rapid-fire questions, a culinary battle, and a practical kitchen quest in which participants must reveal food safety violations.
The regional qualifying rounds will take place in May and June 2025 across all seven provinces of Kyrgyzstan. School cooks can register via Google Forms or by submitting an application to schoolmealsawards@gmail.com. To ensure equal access, the organizers will cover travel and accommodation expenses for participants.
The competition will culminate in a spectacular final event on November 5, 2025, at the Republican Competency Center in Bishkek. The top seven cooks from each province will present their signature hot school meal recipes to an expert jury. Finalists will also take part in masterclasses, get insider tips from the industry’s top professionals, and receive valuable prizes, including certificates for kitchen equipment, personalized gifts, and diplomas.
We invite cooks, parents, and teachers to support the talented professionals who make school meals tasty and nutritious. Stay tuned for updates. Now is the time for culinary mastery and creativity!
The competition is part of the School Meals Optimization proejct, which currently provides hot meals to more than 250,000 children in 920 schools across Kyrgyzstan.
First launched in 2019, this competition has become a beloved annual tradition. It gives school cooks the opportunity to showcase their culinary talent, creativity, and passion for their profession. The competition helps raise the profile of school cooks and improve the quality of meals served to children.
This year’s participants will face a series of exciting challenges designed to test their skills. These include a knowledge assessment on sanitary and safety regulations, a time-based cooking challenge featuring real school menu dishes, a parental quality control quiz with rapid-fire questions, a culinary battle, and a practical kitchen quest in which participants must reveal food safety violations.
The regional qualifying rounds will take place in May and June 2025 across all seven provinces of Kyrgyzstan. School cooks can register via Google Forms or by submitting an application to schoolmealsawards@gmail.com. To ensure equal access, the organizers will cover travel and accommodation expenses for participants.
The competition will culminate in a spectacular final event on November 5, 2025, at the Republican Competency Center in Bishkek. The top seven cooks from each province will present their signature hot school meal recipes to an expert jury. Finalists will also take part in masterclasses, get insider tips from the industry’s top professionals, and receive valuable prizes, including certificates for kitchen equipment, personalized gifts, and diplomas.
We invite cooks, parents, and teachers to support the talented professionals who make school meals tasty and nutritious. Stay tuned for updates. Now is the time for culinary mastery and creativity!
The competition is part of the School Meals Optimization proejct, which currently provides hot meals to more than 250,000 children in 920 schools across Kyrgyzstan.