USMEF conducted the VI Central Asian Chef Battle on U.S. Beef Cooking
The competition brought together 25 chefs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan who advanced to the final stage.
This year’s competition was held as an individual championship. During the qualifying rounds, chefs prepared two dishes – appetizers, salads or cold snacks, and main courses - using U.S. beef secondary cuts, including Top Blade, Flanks and ground beef. Five chefs from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reached the final round.
In the final, participants worked with black boxes containing required ingredients such as sumac, apricot, spices, U.S. Beef Flanks and ground beef.
The rules required careful control of doneness: grilled and roasted U.S. beef cooked above medium was not allowed. After a highly competitive final, Kyrgyzstan’s chef Saparbek Kushbai Ulu won first place, followed by Firuz Akhmedov from Tajikistan and Gulnur Baidoletova from Kyrgyzstan.
The jury included leading chefs from the participating countries: Yegor Danilchenko from Kazakhstan, Sarvar Ganiev representing Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and Akhmat Rakhimov from Kyrgyzstan. The jury was chaired by invited chief speaker Konstantin Zhbakov, who noted the growing professionalism of chefs working with U.S. beef, as well as the variety of culinary ideas and flavor profiles presented during the competition. Independent chef Timur Shersheev, a regular participant of U.S. Beef Chef Battles, received the Audience Award.
Source: USMEF
