A slew of honchos from the corporate world could be seen cooking up a storm at a challenge at The Hyatt Delhi rejoicing their ‘MasterChef’ moment. Devi Singh reports
The mélange of aromas seemed to engulf the Oval Room at the Hyatt Delhi with members from the corporate fraternity sweating it out in their chef's hats and aprons. The corporates turned chefs for a day was a perfect refreshing recipe for the friends and families of the participants.
The Hyatt Culinary Challenge was conceptualised for individuals from the corporate realm to showcase their culinary expertise and passion for food in an interactive culinary event. For the 2015 edition of Culinary Challenge, Hyatt India partnered with SMIlE foundation, and a child from the foundation was paired with each guest participant for the cook-off.
Onno Ruhl, country director, World Bank was seen cooking salmon with orange and fennel pasta. Speaking on the same he told us, “Since we are in India I’ve made a lime dressing as Indians love the tangy taste. This is my first time at the challenge. I loved watching MasterChef Australia and really wanted to participate in a similar set up and gain the similar experience.”
Speaking on the occasion, Harleen Mehta, vice president sales operations, Hyatt South Asia said, “The Hyatt Culinary Challenge is an endeavor to bring together people to celebrate their passion for food and make a difference to the community while doing so. We are delighted with the overwhelming response from the participants both offline and online, and look forward to doing more such events.”
Ritu Gulati a dentist by profession and wife of Salil Gulati, Dua Associates made mushroom galouti kebab for the judges. “My husband is a regular to the hotel and that’s how we got to know about the competition. I just wanted to have some fun while cooking so I participated. As a dentist I love giving people a perfect smile so it’s really incidental to me to have children accompanying us from the smile foundation.”
“Members of the civil society need to be involved proactively to bring changes to children. We are overwhelmed by the support from Hyatt India and look for their collaboration in the future to see lasting impact to boost our local communities,” said Vikram Singh Verma, COO, SMIlE Foundation.
Jo Marie Collier, deputy defence attaché, Canadian High Commission was seen putting her best with pork loin. Talking about her experience she said, “A few years back me and my husband were staying at the hotel where I attended the cook-off assisting one of the participants that I knew. So they asked me to participate the next year which we did. We had an amazing time even though we didn’t win last year and luckily got invited this year too.”
“We are glad to be a part of such a unique initiative put together by Hyatt hotels in India. It encourages food enthusiasts from the corporate circuit to execute their culinary skills in a fun and interactive platform. Post the success of the Hyatt Culinary Challenge 2014, it is a proud moment for us to host the 2015 edition and crown yet another winner from New Delhi,” said Aseem Kapoor, general manager Hyatt Regency Delhi.
The panel of judges included Sourish Bhattacharyya, food columnist and restaurant critic, Rinku Madan, former editor of Times Nightlife Guide and Deeba Rajpal, food stylist with Haim levy, winner of the Hyatt Culinary Challenge 2014. After a tough challenge put up by 11 contestants representing Delhi leg of the competition, Chabbi Mukerji, wife of Anand Mukerji, general manager, Empire Industries won the title while Sanjay Kapoor, CEO Bace Marketing came second.
The winner from each city will compete at the grand finale in Mumbai later in November 2015.