Young chefs serve up their skills in Sri Lanka

Nurturing young culinary talent in Sri Lanka not only prepares the food service industry for a tourism boom, it also helps aspiring chefs achieve their career goals and dreams. 

Nestlé Professional is helping to do this by supporting emerging chefs to benchmark themselves against their peers, learn from industry experts and showcase their culinary skills in the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat competition in Sri Lanka. 

This year, the event attracted hundreds of culinary talents from across the country to compete in regional cook-offs – firstly, in the Professional category in collaboration with the Chefs Guild of Lanka, and also in the new Junior category, in partnership with the Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association.

A total of 18 finalists were selected to compete in the grand finale at the Culinary Art Food Expo. 

The winners of the 2025 competition were awarded at an event in June, attended by a host of distinguished guests, including Her Excellency Dr Siri Walt, Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and Maldives; Reinhold Jakobi, Head of Nestlé Professional; Chef Gerard Mendis, Chairman of the Chefs Guild of Lanka; and Patrick Pereira, President of the Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association. 

“I congratulate Nestlé Professional, the Chefs Guild of Lanka and the Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association on this wonderful initiative to promote culinary talent,” said Her Excellency Dr Siri Walt. “Tourism and the hospitality sector are very important for Sri Lanka and Switzerland. I am very pleased that Nestlé Professional is engaged in uplifting the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka.” 

Reinhold Jakobi, Head of Nestlé Professional, continued: “I am pleased to celebrate Sri Lanka’s vibrant hospitality industry through the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Competition 2025, especially as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of this global initiative. We aim to open the treasure trove of knowledge Nestlé has cultivated through decades of research and development along with our diverse product portfolio, supporting the hospitality industry to grow, innovate and thrive,” he added. 

As part of the event, hundreds of aspiring chefs go head-to-head in cook-offs to win scholarship prizes, showcase their skills, make connections and advance their careers.

Nestlé Professional’s culinary competition supports the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, which aims to help ten million young people worldwide access economic opportunities by 2030 through skills, career and entrepreneurship training.