This Participant Guide is also available in हिन्दी (Hindi), Français (French), Español (Spanish), Deutsch (German), and Русский (Russian).
Welcome to Golden Eye Chef 2026.
We are delighted to invite blind and visually impaired individuals from around the world to participate in the world's first international cooking competition created especially for our community.
Golden Eye Chef is more than a cooking competition. It is a celebration of independence, creativity, confidence, culture, and the stories that food brings into our lives. Through this competition, we aim to showcase not only cooking skills but also the memories, traditions, experiences, and connections that make every dish special.
The theme for Golden Eye Chef 2026 is:
The Global Table – Many Kitchens, One Family
Under this theme, participants are invited to prepare a Dish of Togetherness.
Your challenge is simple. Prepare one dish that you enjoy making for your family, friends, guests, or community, and share the story behind it.
The dish may be traditional, cultural, festive, homemade, comfort food, or your personal specialty. There are no restrictions on cuisine or cooking style. What matters most is that the dish has meaning for you and reflects the spirit of togetherness.
Before you begin, take a moment to think about the story behind your dish.
Perhaps it is a recipe passed down through generations. Perhaps it reminds you of a family celebration, a festival, or a special occasion. Maybe it is a dish you often prepare for friends when they visit your home. It could even be a recipe that you created yourself using simple ingredients or leftovers that unexpectedly became a favourite among family and friends.
Your story may be about family, friendship, community, culture, innovation, personal achievement, or any memorable experience connected to the dish.
There is no right or wrong story. We simply want to hear what makes the dish special to you.
Participation in Golden Eye Chef 2026 is open to blind and visually impaired individuals from any country. Participants must be 18 years of age or older as of 25 July 2026. There is no entry fee to participate.
To enter the competition, you will need to download and complete the official Golden Eye Chef 2026 Entry Form and record a video showing yourself preparing the dish.
The Entry Form helps us learn more about you, your dish, and the story behind it. Please complete all sections carefully before submitting your entry.
At the beginning of your video, introduce yourself and tell us your name, your country, and the name of the dish you are preparing.
As you cook, explain the ingredients you are using and guide us through the important steps involved in preparing the dish. Most importantly, share the story behind your recipe and tell us why you chose it for Golden Eye Chef 2026.
When your dish is complete, show us the final result and tell us why it is meaningful to you and how it brings people together.
The maximum duration of the video is 15 minutes.
The video should be recorded in landscape (horizontal) mode and the audio should be clear enough for the judges to hear your explanation and story. You may use a mobile phone, camera, or any other suitable recording device.
You may record your video in any language that you are comfortable speaking. We encourage participants to express themselves naturally in the language they know best.
To help you make the best use of the available time, you may pause and resume recording during the cooking process. For example, you may pause while waiting for food to cook, dough to rest, or ingredients to cool.
However, video editing is not permitted. Please do not add music, filters, visual effects, transitions, subtitles, voice-overs, or any other post-production enhancements. The purpose of the competition is to showcase your authentic cooking process and personal story.
Golden Eye Chef celebrates independent cooking and personal achievement. Therefore, participants should perform the cooking process themselves. Someone may assist with recording the video, and family members or friends may appear briefly in the recording, but the cooking itself should be completed by the participant.
Once your video is ready and the Entry Form has been completed, submit your entry to:
goldeneyechef@antardrishti.org
Your submission should include:
- Completed Golden Eye Chef 2026 Entry Form
- Competition Video
- Any supporting documents requested by the organizers
If your video file is too large to send by email, you may upload it to a file-sharing platform such as Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer, or OneDrive and share the download link with us. Please ensure that the shared link is accessible and remains active until the competition process is completed.
Please save your video file using your name and the name of your dish.
For example:
AkhilSrivastava-VegetablePulao.mp4
MariaGarcia-Paella.mp4
Entries will be accepted from 25 July 2026 until 25 August 2026. We encourage participants to submit their entries well before the deadline to avoid any last-minute technical or internet-related difficulties.
Once your entry is received, the Golden Eye Chef team will review it to ensure that all required information has been provided and that the submission complies with the competition guidelines. If any important information is missing, the team may contact you for clarification.
Before submitting your entry, please make sure that your video does not exceed 15 minutes, clearly shows your cooking process, includes the story behind your dish, and can be opened and played successfully.
Most importantly, remember that Golden Eye Chef is not only about creating a delicious dish. It is about sharing your creativity, your experiences, your culture, and the stories that food helps create.
We look forward to hearing your story, seeing your dish, and celebrating your journey with us.
Good luck and happy cooking.
Team Golden Eye Chef 2026