Presidente InterContinental Mexico City And Anahuac University Student Win InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts Cooking Competition

ATLANTA, May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the Presidente InterContinental Mexico City hotel and Ana Paula Oviedo Gómez, a culinary student at Anahuac University, as the winners of the second annual Ultimate Culinary Clash, which took place on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at the InterContinental San Francisco hotel. With the assistance of the hotel's Chapulín restaurant Chef de Cuisine Alejandro Fuentes, Gómez received top honors while competing against three other culinary students who were paired with top chefs from InterContinental properties in the U.S., and she won a $5,000 scholarship from the InterContinental brand.

Part cooking competition and part scholarship fundraiser, the Ultimate Culinary Clash brought together the winners of four regional Culinary Clash competitions to face-off against each other. Each student chef finalist presented a small plate of their winning entrée from the regional Culinary Clash to an esteemed group of judges, composed of a special group of hotel executives, media, and renowned chefs, including Chef Todd English, restaurateur of the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel's Ça Va Brasserie. Each dish in the competition was judged and scored on taste, creativity and presentation. Winning student Gómez impressed the judges with her dish "Tacos de Lechon" accented with cilantro, garlic and an habanero guava foam.

Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food and Beverage, The Americas, IHG said: "With Michelin-starred chefs and celebrity restaurateurs to help develop our innovative culinary creations, the InterContinental brand's world-class food and beverage program features signature bars and restaurants with exceptional menus that pair local flavors with global inspiration. It gives us great pride to introduce the next generation of culinary talent to our brand's affinity for haute cuisine and support their progression as a student in a meaningful way."   

Over the course of three months, four InterContinental properties across the United States and Mexico held local competitions with culinary students. The first place winners from each hotel received the opportunity to move forward to the Ultimate Culinary Clash in San Francisco, and the following is a list of this year's student participants:

• InterContinental Cleveland – Magdalis Galzara of Cuyahoga Community College
• Presidente InterContinental Mexico City – Ana Paula Oviedo Gómez of Anahuac University in Mexico City
• InterContinental New York Times Square – Chloe Sackett of International Culinary Center in New York City
• InterContinental San Francisco – Christopher Wan of International Culinary Center in Campbell

Chef Todd English, Ça Va Brasserie Restaurateur, InterContinental New York Times Square hotel said: "It's very exciting to see the Ultimate Culinary Clash come together again for the second time. This winning student brought a lot of flavor with her traditional Mexican dish."

The Ultimate Culinary Clash serves as an opportunity for the InterContinental brand to showcase its commitment to culinary excellence. It began four years ago as a local annual cooking competition at the InterContinental San Francisco hotel's Luce restaurant. The competition invited students from a local culinary school to compete for a chance to work with the restaurant's Michelin-star Chef Daniel Corey and showcase their own menu for one night in Luce. The competition was expanded for the second year in a row to include other InterContinental hotels from the U.S. and Mexico.

About InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has 180 hotels located in more than 60 countries with local insight that comes from over 60 years of experience. As a brand, we believe that superior, understated service and outstanding facilities are important, but what makes us truly different is the genuine interest we show in our guests. Our desire is to help guests make the most of their time. We connect our well-traveled guests to what's special about a destination, by sharing our knowledge, so they enjoy authentic experiences that will enrich their lives and broaden their outlook. For more information, visit http://www.ihg.com/intercontinental, https://twitter.com/InterConHotels or http://www.facebook.com/intercontinental.

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) IHG IHG (ADRs) is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts,Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN™ Hotels, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®. In January 2015, IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, the world's leading boutique hotel business.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 84 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,800 hotels and more than 710,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with over 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline. Over 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices worldwide.

In January 2015 we completed the acquisition of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, adding 62 hotels (11,300 rooms) to our system size and 16 hotels to our development pipeline. 

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg,www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)