Ms. Nepali wins Nepal's First National Skill Competition in Cookery

04.07.2019
The hospitality and food sectors are growing in Nepal and the development and recognition of such workforce is even more necessary. To recognize the effort and highlight the skills of the people trained formally or informally in cooking, a first-ever national level “National Skill Competition in Cookery” was organized by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT)/National Skill Testing Board (NSTB). 

The event was managed by Gate Vocational Pvt. Ltd with the support of Nepal Vocational Qualifications System (NVQS) Project funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and managed by Swisscontact. The “National Skill Competition in Cookery” was conducted in three rounds. In the first round a total of 169 people initially participated out of which 26 were female. The round progressed with the selection of 14 contestants from 7 provinces qualifying for the next round. The second round further saw the selection of 7 out of the 14 contestants for the finals.  The final round of the competition was held on 21st June, 2019 in Pokhara. The opening ceremony was chaired by Vice Chairperson of CTEVT Dr. Kul Bahadur Basnet and the Chief Guest, Mr. Man Bahadur GC, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan city. Similarly, the final award ceremony was chaired by acting Member Secretary of CTEVT, Mr. Ramesh Kumar Bakhati, where Honorable Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Mr. Prithvi Subba Gurung was the Chief Guest.  Ms. Sunsari Nepali from Province 3 was adjudged to be the winner for the first “National Skill Competition in Cookery”. Ms. Nepali is trained in culinary arts  from the United States. She later worked for the Embassy of Israel and the Embassy of Finland in Kathmandu, after returning back from the United States. She is currently a sous chef in Phora Durbar Café in Kathmandu. She was awarded with certificates, a medal of honor, and a cash prize worth NPR. 100,000 as a recognition for her skills. Similarly, the 1st runner-up of the competition was Mr. Ramesh Thapa from province 3 and the 2nd runner-up was Mr. Om Prasad Dhakal from Province 5. The 1st runner-up and the 2nd runner-up were awarded with cash prizes of NPR 75,000 and NPR 50,000 respectively.