3...2...1...go! As soon as the judges said “your time starts now”, the contestants had their eyes fixed on their counters. They only had two-and-a-half hours to complete a three-course vegetarian meal, including a vegan starter, in Round II of the 4th International Young Chef Olympiad, presented by International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), in association with t2. This round, held in Calcutta, had 43 contestants divided into five groups, fighting it out to be a finalist. Snapshots...
TT Bureau
Published 07.02.18, 12:00 AM
3...2...1...go! As soon as the judges said “your time starts now”, the contestants had their eyes fixed on their counters. They only had two-and-a-half hours to complete a three-course vegetarian meal, including a vegan starter, in Round II of the 4th International Young Chef Olympiad, presented by International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), in association with t2. This round, held in Calcutta, had 43 contestants divided into five groups, fighting it out to be a finalist. Snapshots...
Zehadul Hasan from Bangladesh isn’t an amateur chef; he has some experience of working in a professional kitchen just like a few other contestants in the competition. So what was the most challenging part for him? “I am used to cooking vegetarian dishes for guests at the hotel I work in, so that wasn’t the challenge. The difficult part was to cook an out-an-out vegan starter for this round,” said the 22-year-old.
For 22-year-old Dawa Dema, Round II wasn’t a cakewalk. “The gelatin for my dessert didn’t set. Also, I couldn’t do the main course the way I had wanted to. I wish I could manage my time better. I definitely need to work on my time management,” said the contestant from Bhutan.
Hong Kong’s Lee Hon Fai loves cooking with honey. “I made a few mistakes... forgot a couple of things that I shouldn’t have. But there’s no point regretting now. I am confident about the flavours though,” said the 19-year-old.
Asdis Bjorgvinsdottir from Iceland was clearly out of her comfort zone as she isn’t used to cooking vegetarian dishes. “We don’t really cook vegetarian dishes back in Iceland. We use veggies like carrots and celery roots, but definitely not the ingredients that we were given today. I am kind of happy with the outcome, so let’s see what happens,” said the 24-year-old mother of one.
Ireland’s Jonathan Cheung was a little nervous trying to figure out the ingredients. “They are so, so different — definitely not what I had in mind. I think I lost a couple of minutes trying to understand that. And in a competition such as this, every minute counts,” said the 24-year-old who wants to cook for Gordon Ramsay one day.
Seventeen-year-old Luca Rinaldi, who was quite a hit with the ladies at IIHM, seemed disappointed. “I couldn’t do as expected. The dessert I made melted because of the hot weather. I am not happy with my starter and main course either. I wish I had more time and I shouldn’t have let my nervousness get the better of me,” said the contestant from Italy.
Malaysia’s Lai Jia Yi has taken part in cooking competitions before and has also won some of them. So was it easy for him to cook a three-course vegetarian meal with a vegan starter? “I am from a tropical country just like India and that’s the reason why I am used to cooking with these ingredients. Just that the size and texture of some of the ingredients were a little different. However, that wasn’t a problem at all,” said the 22-year-old.
Bukhory Harvansh Raj Sharma from Mauritius is “never too nervous”. “I want to be in a good headspace and being nervous doesn’t help. Having said that, I am excited and can’t wait for the judges to taste my dishes. I won’t say that I am used to cooking with all the ingredients given to us but I have cooked with some of them back in my country so I feel confident,” said
the 21-year-old.
Hands on the chopping board and eyes on the pot — well, that’s multitasking, an essential quality for a successful chef. Namibia’s contestant Martin Kauluma Shipanga was doing exactly that, while his work in the kitchen was being closely watched by chef Enzo Oliveri, one of the technical judges.
New Zealand’s Zane Sinclair wasn’t particularly happy with his effort. “My dessert collapsed. I am disappointed even though I think I have done okay with my main course and appetiser. Let’s see what happens,” said the 19-year-old who loves French cuisine.
Sol Park from South Korea wasn’t fazed at all. “We eat a lot of veggies in South Korea so I am used to cooking and eating vegetarian dishes. I am pretty confident and completely in my comfort zone,” said Sol.
