The Hindu Business Line : Specially flavoured win

You know, there are professional teams of chefs that take part only in competitions," says N. Sheetharam Prasad. He should know... his own team won a bronze medal at the first Euro-Asian Festival of Cookery Art (Eurafeska) held in October this year at Ekaterinburg, Russia, on the border of Asia and Europe. For the three chefs who made up the national team, the last few years have been filled with intensive training for such international competitions. Training also involves participating in national-level competitions and travelling extensively.

Prasad, who is executive chef at Chennai's GRT Grand, was deputed to the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany in 2004. "We were shocked to see the level of expertise there. We Indians are good at skills, but can't depend solely on them; we need to learn some technique and finesse too," he says. Prasad and R. Rajesh, Executive Sous Chef at the Park, Chennai, along with Chef Ashish Gupta, Claridges Hotel, New Delhi, represented India. They are members of various regional chapters, which are affiliated to the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations. Culinary competitions are over 100 years old, but this is the country's first-ever national team to participate in an international culinary competition.

The number of `props' that some of the other teams bring to the events put teams like ours to shame, he adds. The US, for instance, brought two aeroplanes full of stuff for use in the competition, whereas the Indian team got barely any support from the airlines or the Ministry of Tourism — it had 100 kg of excess baggage and got only a small concession at Customs! And had to pay twice as there was no facility for onward booking through the two or three flights they changed during the journey. However, the Centre recently announced that chefs would also come under the `artist' category, making them eligible for national honours, which is a "big fillip" to the profession, says Prasad.

The menu

So what were the creations that put India in the limelight at Eurafeska? In the first round, each team had to put together a four-course meal of its national dishes. Five plates, one for tasting and the rest for display, had to be prepared. For the appetiser, the Indian team made the galawat kabab with ulta tava paratha, chutney, salad and papad, crab shorba for the soup, murgh malai kabab, lemon-flavoured rice, curry leaf-flavoured prawns, paneer in makhani sauce and fried aubergines for the main course. Dessert was phirni, ghevar, carrot halva and rabdi.

There has to be a balanced mix of proteins, vegetables, starch and carbohydrates — nutrition carries a lot of weight during the judging, as do hygiene, presentation and technical aspects such as the weight of the different constituents of the meal, size of the plate and so on. These contests are `live' — it's rather uncomfortable conjuring up gastronomic marvels under the keen stare of the judges, say the chefs. The judges also peek into the refrigerators and dustbins to make sure too many of the raw materials haven't gone to waste!

The spices have to be adjusted to suit the palate of the judges.

Isn't that unfair, doesn't it detract from the true taste of the food? "A bit, maybe, but when we make Continental food here in India, we put in more seasoning to suit Indian palates," says Rajesh, adding that it's part of the globalisation of cuisines.

Cooking on their feet

The second round was the Black Box round. The contesting teams were given a sealed box containing some ingredients and they were required to rustle up a three-course meal using whatever came out of the box. All the teams get the same ingredients and just 30 minutes to submit the menu, after which it's 90 minutes of fast-paced cooking. The Indian team came up with a tomato-and-green apple soup and puff pastry with smoked salmon, bell pepper and feta cheese relish for the appetiser. A roulade of chicken, cep mushrooms and frankfurters, spaghetti with tomato and aubergines in cep mushroom sauce and braised celery constituted the main course. Here too, the boxes are checked to see what was used and what was not, and whether the listed menu and that on the table corresponded.

Rajesh also points out that the food should be practical and easy to handle. Fancy towers or detailed constructions that are a feast for the eyes but tricky to eat won't cut the mustard.

There are various categories in the competition — sugar work, chocolate, hot food and more. India participated in the hot food category. "We need more training in several categories, especially confectionery and dessert," says Rajesh.

"We surprised everyone, including ourselves," he says. Apparently no one expected the Indians to come within sniffing distance of any prize. Germany and Turkey won the first and second places respectively, while India got a bronze.. "This is motivation for all chefs in India, participation will grow," says Prasad. The IFCA plans to bring in master chefs who specialise in competition cooking and is looking for good sponsors. If this works out, there could well be a team representing India at the Culinary Olympics in 2008.

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