The Asia-Pacific selections for the famed biennial world chef championships Bocuse d'Or will be held in Singapore for the first time.

It will take place on April 14 and 15 at the Singapore Expo.

Nine national teams from the region will fight for five spots to cook in the final Bocuse d'Or World Cooking Contest in Lyon in 2017.

The participating countries are Singapore, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which makes its debut this year.

The Asia-Pacific competition will be held in conjunction with the 20th edition of Food and Hotel Asia. The contest will be presided over by chef Bruno Menard, president of Bocuse d'Or Singapore, and head of the new local organisation Bocuse d'Or Singapore Academy, together with its honorary president Otto Weibel.