Competing alongside the youngest, most ambitious talent in the
industry, in front of an educated audience at that, the 16 feisty chefs
who took part in the contest were not only driven by ultimate victory
but were all heart too. On Monday evening, all roads led to the
Kingfisher Explocity King Of Chefs contest, in association with
Citibank, where a cook off like no other unfolded. And it was Chef
Sandeep Biswas, from Ista, Bangalore, who came out trumps. “This contest
has been a great experience,” beamed the chef, “Every single chef came
out with an amazing dish and I feel blessed to have been given the top
honour. I’ll be back next year too!”
Food critic Karen Anand and Chef Abhijit Saha had
their task cut out for them, when they took their seats at the judge’s
table at The Leela Palace Kempinski, because as Karen said, “Scoring has
never been tougher- this year’s contest was a lot different from last
year’s, and the creativity quotient was right up there.” Chef Jeethu T
Kandathil from The Park used his culinary craft to cook up the dishiest
of dishes and bag the Most Aesthetic Presentation award, while Chef
Sathes Kumar, from The Leela Palace, walked away with the second
runner-up crown, thanks to his precise skill behind the counter. One
step ahead of him was Chef Saket Ranjan, The Oberoi, who wowed the
judges with his mastery over the tricky Eggs Benedict, but it was the
charming Chef Pravin Bagali, Movenpick Hotel and Spa Bangalore, who
bowled over the blogger’s panel. Unique to this year’s edition of the
contest, for the first time, there was a separate judge’s panel
featuring prominent bloggers Candice Lock Weng Po, Monika Manchanda,
Mayur Polepalli, Milan Vohra and Ruth Prabhu who gave away the
Independent Food Critics Award. Four prizes down, it was time for the
moment of truth, and it was the delightfully simple Chef Sandeep Biswas
who was given the coveted golden toque, having won approval for his
innovative and spot-on culinary creations. But it wasn’t just the chefs
who had all the action, the audience, comprising the who’s who of the
page 3 circuit, hospitality industry and business posse, had a great
time too, sipping on their drinks and making their rounds of the cookery
counters.
Other chefs who took part in the contest were Chef
Sudhir Nair (Hotel Royal Orchid), Chef Subodh Goyal (The Lalit Ashok),
Chef Shankar Saranjibi (Vivanta by Taj - MG Road), Chef Kailash
Gundupalli (Ibis & Novotel), Chef Santosh Kumar (Angsana Oasis Spa
& Resort), Chef Lynn Clemente (Vivanta by Taj – Whitefield), Chef
Abu Backer (Le Meridien), Chef Guna Shekar (Golden Palms Hotel &
Spa), Chef Ilandhirai Vadivel (Crowne Plaza), Chef Mohan Rao (The
Chancery Pavilion) and Chef Gulzar Singh Dayal (Park Plaza).
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