Corporate Executive Chef Mr. Sheetharam along with Sous chef Ganesh of GRT Hotels and Resorts, Chennai won the Gold Medal at International Chef Competition held at Singapore recently. The competition titled “Tradition and Innovations” was organized under the auspices of Singapore Tourism Board, Indian
Restaurant Association of Singapore and Indian Chef’s
Culinary Association as a part of 10 days Food Festival held at Little India,
Singapore.
6 finalist teams from 5 Asian countries
participated in the competition, viz.
India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Hotel Sahara - Mumbai and GRT Hotels and
Resorts - Chennai represented India.
Based on our nomination for the competition
and chefs profile, GRT was selected
to participate in the competition.
Each team comprising of a Chef and a Sous Chef along with a
local culinary student competed for 2 live challenges:
1. To prepare 3 course menu
2. Mystery challenge
Chef Mr. Sheetharam Prasaad, said,“ The challenge started
with the menu planning and purchase of the ingredients at the local market
within a specific cash budget. Time allocated was 90 minutes and it was a nerve
racking effort to get the correct quantity of ingredients required for our 3
course meal. The 3 course menu prepared by us included starter, main course
& dessert.
Starter
Robusty shot – with malai murg and tempting galoti on ulti
parata and pyazi salat
(green gram smoothie with cream enriched chicken supreme and
lamb mince kebab with Indian bread and onion salad)
Main course
Seafood moilee with wilted spinach, red string hopper and
botanic poriyal (shrimp coiled in fish and poached in coconut milk stew with
steamed red rice hoppers and mixed vegetable poriyal)
Dessert
Spheroid-fruits jalebi tower with rabdi drizzle, mango
shrikhand amidst kesari and khubani ka
meetha
(Jalebi piled with spheroid of fruits, mango infused yoghurt
with nectarous semolina and stewed apricot)
Chef Mr. Sheetharam added that our meticulous planning with passionate
execution was the core recipe which we trusted more than the practical one. The
second challenge was the mystery basket competition, where we were presented
with 5 ingredients and we were asked to use minimum 3 ingredients and prepare
the dishes. The five mystery ingredients in our basket were chicken, lotus
stem, drumstick, jackfruit and dates. The classical food had to be cooked by
the traditional method using charcoal, mud stove (sigri) and 2 mud pots within
90 minutes. The challenge was compounded by stringent rules like using only one
small knife for chopping given by them. This called for total coordination of
the team and make sure that all factors like hygiene, taste, time management
and perfect presentation came together to produce the winning menu. We had to
make sure the presentation looks ethnic and we tried to bring in colour
combinations. The dishes prepared by our team were Kozhi chuttathu with
yelumichai saadam, kaikari mandi and served traditionally on banana leaf.
Chef Mr. Sheetharam proudly showcased the trophy and the
gold medals affirming that the highest points were scored by his team in taste
and presentation which is an asset of GRT Hotels and Resorts. The jury panel
comprised of Internationally acclaimed experts of World Association of Chefs
Societies like Chef Rick Stephen - Asia and pacific continental Director of
WACS.
Chef Edmund Toh - Assistant Vice President, Resorts World
Sentosa Hotels and Casino and Chef Mahendran– Chef d’ Cuisine - Indian Kitchen
SATS, Singapore.
The judging criteria to win the competition were based on
originality, ingenuity, creativity, appearance, presentation, colour scheme,
professional skill, ingredients used, name, speed, alertness and knowledge.
Photo Caption...!
Mr. Sheetharam
Prasad, Corporate Executive Chef, GRT
Hotels & Resorts along with Sous Chef Ganesh with their International Prize
winning starter and main dish at a Media interaction in Chennai.
For further information contact :
Chef Sheetharam P :
94442 08135 Ms. Parul Bhatt : 98410 14925
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