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.