PENANG will once again take centre stage as a regional culinary hub with the return of the 20th Battle of the Chefs (BOTC) 2026, to be held alongside the Malaysia Culinary Summit & Expo 2026 from Oct 21 to 24 at Setia SPICE Arena.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the four-day event would bring together thousands of chefs, culinary professionals, hospitality leaders and industry players from around the world, further strengthening Penang’s reputation as a food destination.
“Penang is the food capital of Asia, and we are expecting so many internationally established chefs to come to Penang,” he said during a press conference here today.
Wong congratulated the Penang Chefs Association and the organising committee for successfully bringing the landmark competition to its 20th edition, while reaffirming the Penang Government’s support for the event.
“On behalf of the Penang State Government, we fully endorse the event and also express our support,” he said.
Organised by the Penang Chefs Association and presented by Chefonic, Merrychef and Convotherm, BOTC has grown from a local culinary competition established in 1988 into a Worldchefs-sanctioned Continental Culinary Competition and one of Asia’s prominent international culinary events.
The 2026 edition is expected to attract more than 2,000 chefs, culinary professionals, hospitality leaders and educators, together with over 100 Worldchefs Certified Judges from more than 20 countries.
Participants will compete in more than 90 competition classes, vying for over RM100,000 in prizes, medals and championship trophies.
Wong also highlighted that the Malaysia Culinary Summit & Expo 2026 would bring together three major events under one roof – the 20th BOTC, International Gourmet Expo (IGE) and Asia Food Festival (AFF).
“This is one of the country’s largest community and hospitality gatherings featuring three signature events under one roof,” he said.
The summit and expo is projected to attract more than 30,000 trade visitors and consumers from Malaysia and abroad.
The IGE, organised by Lord of Gourmet (KOC) and the Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association (FRA), will feature eight specialised industry forums and B2B business-matching sessions in conjunction with the Jom Makan – Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.
Meanwhile, the Asia Food Festival will showcase Malaysia’s multicultural food heritage alongside international cuisines, artisan food products, live cooking demonstrations and street food experiences.
A key highlight of BOTC 2026 will be the introduction of the Chef Otto Weibel Trophy, honouring the renowned culinary educator and international judge. Finalists competing for the trophy will showcase their skills in a purpose-built modern competition kitchen sponsored by Endura and powered by Get Rental.
Early bird registration for BOTC 2026 closes on Aug 15, while final registration ends on Sept 20.
Wong expressed his appreciation to the Penang Chefs Association, organising committee and sponsors for their efforts in bringing the international culinary event back to Penang.
“We thank the Chef Association for putting up this competition as well as all the sponsors. We wish them a successful event in the coming October,” he said.
Story by Sarbeyshwaran Rajalingam
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud