 Indian chefs bag bronze in global contest
Team India, comprising Chef Sheetaram Prasaad, executive chef (GRT Grand Hotel, Chennai), Chef Rajesh Radhakrishanan, executive sous chef (The Park, Chennai), and
Chef Ashish Gupta (Claridge Hotel, New Delhi), bagged the bronze medal at the first Euro-Asian festival of cookery art, titled Eurafeska, held at the World Trade Center in
Ekaterinburg, Russia, on October 20, 2006.
The trio did the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) proud, winning against stiff competition from chefs and confectioners in Europe, Asia and Russia, in India's
first-ever participation in the global contest, said P Soundararajan, general secetary of IFCA, in
Chennai.
It was only a coincidence that while IFCA members Prasaad, Radhakrishanan and Gupta were holding India's flag high in Russia on International Chef's Day, back home in
Chennai, IFCA was engaged in conducting a special Chef Amudhupadai programme to bring cheer to 1,000 underprivileged children belonging to the Ramakrishna Mission
Students' Home, Soundararajan pointed out.
An international jury consisting of well-known international chefs, as well as winners and judges of international competitions, including members of the World Association of
Chefs' Societies (WACS), judged the prestigious competition. The jury included H D Halbfell from Germany, F Walter and A Garcia from Spain, Ken Fraser from Britain, and
Milan Sahanek from the Czech Republic.
Sheetaram Prasaad said the contest included a Black Box round where ingredients (contents not known earlier) are given in a box and the teams would have to come up
with a menu within half-an-hour and cook a meal within two hours.
Rajesh said there was tremendous respect for Indian cuisine and it was getting more and more popular abroad. The standard of Indian chefs, despite stiff competition from
experienced chefs from abroad who had participated in such contests for several years, had surprised many countries. The Indian chefs now received many invitations to visit
foreign countries, indicating the growing popularity of Indian dishes, he added.
R Rangaraj
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