Azerbaijani chefs have won first place in the overall standings of the Pakistan International Culinary Championship, which took place in Lahore, Azernews reports.

The national team featured young chefs Ayan Aliyeva and Fardi Mirzoyev, who collectively claimed four gold and four silver medals. The championship included categories for seafood, chicken, meat, and pasta dishes.

The President of the Baku Chefs Association, Ahmad Shafik, was granted permanent honorary membership.

The championship was held under the auspices of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), a global network that unites over ten million chefs from 110 professional associations worldwide. WACS, established in 1928, is a flagship public opinion leader in the culinary and hospitality industries.

The Pakistan International Culinary Championship took place at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in partnership with the Chefs Association of Pakistan (CAP) and the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (COTHM).

The championship featured participants from Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Bangladesh, Iran, Uzbekistan, Palestine, the Maldives, and Saudi Arabia.

With its rich cuisine, Azerbaijan offers a wide variety of gastronomic opportunities.

Fresh mint, coriander, dill, basil, and parsley, as well as sumac, cumin, saffron, and cinnamon, are very popular and often accompany the main dishes.

Such seasonings as lemon, olives, food acids, abgora, narsharab, cherry plums, elbukhara, gora, kizil-akhta, kuraga (dried apricots), lavashana, and others are also widely used to enhance the taste and smell of food.

Most Azerbaijani dishes are made of mutton, beef, and poultry. Rice and products made from flour are also widely used in the national cuisine.

Sea, lakes and rivers of Azerbaijan are abundant with different fish species.

The Caspian Sea is home to many edible species of fish, including the sturgeon, Caspian salmon, sardines, grey mullet, and others. Black caviar from the Caspian Sea is the world-famous national delicacy.

Some Azerbaijani dishes are cooked in special utensils: piti soup is prepared in clay pots, pilaf - in special boilers with a thick bottom (kazan), kebab is planked on special skewers. In general, more than 2,000 recipes are known in the national cuisine.