by Rachel Hunter
Gouverneur native Jeremy Houghton mentored USA’s own Chantelle Gonsalves in the 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad in India 2023. Under Houghton’s mentorship, Gonsalves became one of the Top 10 finalists in the world’s biggest culinary olympiad.
Jeremy Houghton is the son of Jerry and Cande Houghton of Gouverneur, and graduated from Gouverneur High School in 1988. He caught his passion for cooking while enrolled in the culinary arts program at Southwest Career and Technical Educational Center (BOCES) in Fowler. Mr. Houghton earned an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales University, and a MBA from Johnson & Wales University. Houghton’s first kitchen job was bussing tables at the Roma Restaurant for DeCastro’s. “When you are 17-18, you want to be a chef, you want to go out and kick some butt in the real world, and that is what I thought I was going to do, and I did for a while,” Mr. Houghton said. I left Johnson & Wales after graduation and was a chef in New Mexico, Alaska, Virginia Beach. I traveled around… I was asked to teach one day because the instructor was ill. And I said, “I am not really that good of an instructor. I’ve never taught before.” And they said, “Oh you’ll be fine. One thing led to another and now I am back here at my alma mater teaching the next generation of chefs.”
Mr. Houghton now holds the title of Senior Chef Instructor at Johnson & Wales University, and was selected to be the mentor for the Annual International Young Chef Olympiad in India. 2023 saw the 9th edition of YCO, which was held in a physical format after a gap of two years when it had to be conducted virtually owing to the COVID-19 pandemic— and saw some of the world's most talented young chefs compete with each other to be awarded the Best Young Chef in the World. Mr. Houghton told the Gouverneur Tribune Press that another culinary school in the USA backed out from the competition, not having the budget to send students over to India. Mr. Houghton explained, “They approached Johnson & Wales, and said: “Would you like to represent the United States in the culinary Olympics?” And of course we said, “Absolutely!” They asked me to mentor her, because they know I’ve done a bunch of competitions. I’ve helped students win San Pellegrino Contest. Two of the students I taught at the Miami campus won that. So I am familiar with competition. So, they asked me to coach. We had 14 students try out for it, and Chantelle Gonsalves won for Johnson & Wales to represent the United States.”
Mr. Houghton trained Miss Gonsalves for three months, cooking with her a couple times per week, perfecting her knife skills, and more. 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad opened the world to Miss Gonsalves as she stepped outside the United States of America for the first time in her life. “It was a very big thing for her,” he said. The trip started with a 12-hour trip to Dubai, and they had about a 12-hour layover before their plane took them to New Delhi for the opening ceremony. “She had never been out of the country, so I wanted to at least show her all that I could. So we went to eat at the No. 54 restaurant in the world, and had an amazing meal there.”
The 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad had contestants and mentors from 53 countries – making it the largest turnout in the competition’s history. Stage One of the competition was held in Hyderabad. “Chantelle had to do a vegetarian dish, a salad and a lemon flan,” Mr. Houghton said. “That was prescribed. We knew that is what she had to do, and she had practiced those dishes. Chantelle won Best Knife Skills out of all 53 countries, which gave her a little edge to get to the Top 10. All of the countries dispersed from New Delhi and we all ended up in Kolkata. The Top 10 then had to go in and cook under pressure. They had two and a half hours, and they had to do two perfect omelets, a tarte tatin, and her dish, they had to use King Prawn. Luckily enough, she ended up fifth in the world. I couldn’t have been more proud of her. She had a lot of obstacles…”
Mr. Houghton told the Gouverneur Tribune Press that Miss Gonsalves is currently in Chicago finishing her internship at a one Michelin Star restaurant, but that her achievement at the 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad probably trumps that on every resume. “The fact that she has gone out and placed in the Top 5 for a young chef,” he said. “Put that on a resume, and anyone who reads that will start to ask questions about it. Like: “Explain to me how you got No. 5 in the world. Is this a scam or is this a real thing?” And when they hear her stories, they are going to be like instantly, you’re hired. Even if I owned a restaurant, having her on board with me is something that I can now say: “Here’s my executive chef. She competed in the world culinary Olympics.”
For Mr. Houghton, the 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad in India gave him the opportunity to meet 52 other mentors and 52 other contestants. “At first you think, maybe I’ll meet a couple of friends. Maybe it will be alright,” he said. “But the first night we all hung out at a hookah bar in New Delhi. Here I am from Gouverneur, NY and I’m thinking, “I am sitting here with all these chefs from around the world.” The Young Chef Olympiad claims that this is the third largest type of an event in the world. The first one is the Olympics, the second one would be FIFA World Cup, and then the third one is theirs because 53 countries came together. Nobody else can boast that, and they are right. What other competition do you hear has that notoriety and that flair to it?”
Mr. Houghton told the Gouverneur Tribune Press that this was his first visit to India, but it for sure won’t be his last. But he is no stranger to international travel as he has been to Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Australia. “One billion people live in this country, and it is a third-world country. It is a pretty big eye-opener when you see it,” he said.
“People probably think that is horrible to be surrounded by poverty and despair, but every person that I met smiled, loved their life, and in so many ways they are happier with nothing than Americans are with everything we have. You would see them all smile and be polite.
“They would ask questions… I sat at a monument while we were waiting to go in, and people were sitting next to me taking pictures, because you know I am a white guy. Finally about the third one, I looked at him and asked: “Do you want me to sit farther away or closer?” He was like, “No, please, closer. Are you an American?” I said, yes, and then there was a line of probably 10 people waiting to take their picture with me because they have never seen an American before. It was one of those moments where I was like, “How have you never seen an American?” But here I am in Kolkata and I think that they probably haven’t. Kolkata is not a huge destination for Americans. It is amazing the people that I met, and I can’t wait to go back next year. And that is the truth. Now that I know the process a little bit, we’ll definitely do better next year.”
The Annual International Young Chef Olympiad, presented by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) will be held once again in India in 2024. “It is hosted by a hotel travel school called IIHM. They host it,” Mr. Houghton said. “What is really kind of cool about is that they use it as part of their training for their students… They have their main campus in New Delhi, but also have smaller schools in Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Goa and Kolkata. And they flew all of the contestants to these various locations to be entertained. And boy do they know how to host. We would walk in and they would treat us like royalty. And so, the school is going to host it every year, just because their program is built on it and their relationship. Now students from there can come over to Johnson & Wales and complete their education for a Master’s Degree. I am working with one student that I met in Hyderabad to get them to come over and do an internship at a hotel… and one of my friends is an assistant manager of a hotel. He was like, “I’ve always wanted to come over to America to work.” And I said, “Why don’t you?” He said, “I don’t know where to go.” And so I’ve arranged it. So yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
Mr. Houghton said there was no racial tension at the 9th Annual International Young Chef Olympiad. “You hear about how certain races don’t get along. There was none of that,” he said. “We embraced everyone. There was a girl from Iran whose mentor couldn’t make the trip. She stood up on the first day and all the mentors walked up to her and said, “If you need anything, you come to us.” And by the end of it, all 53 of these kids were friends. They are planning a reunion to go to Amsterdam to hang out again because they made such a strong bond. I’m on a chat with all the mentors and we chat a couple of times per week… It’s just like the Olympics. You are going to make bonds that are going to last a lifetime. It wasn’t about any politics or anything like that. It was just a great experience for everyone. If all of the other contestants could take back to their countries how awesome and nice people were, then maybe that would make our world be a better place.”
Mr. Houghton is looking forward to mentoring more culinary arts students in preparation for the Annual International Young Chef Olympiad in future years, and many words of congratulations have been extended upon hearing of his recent success. For more information about the Annual International Young Chef Olympiad, visit ycolympiad.com.