It’s tough enough as a teenager to manage school, internships, extracurricular activities and one’s social life. To follow one’s passion along with all this is a greater challenge. So when 50 students from 20 Calcutta schools decided to put passion first and cook to their heart’s content, the result was some delicious food. On April 16, the Calcutta round of IIHM Young Chef India Schools, in association with t2, had students — both boys and girls from Classes XI and XII — cooking up a storm. The judges were mighty impressed, so was t2. Here’s what was on the table at IndiSmart Hotel, Sector V, Salt Lake…
1) The task at hand? To cook one Indian dish with the given ingredients and an accompaniment like rice, roti or paratha — in one hour. Ingredients available? A plethora of veggies like brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, potato, bell peppers, and spices and sauces, and even some cheese and Thai basil. For proteins, students could choose from boneless Basa fillets, pre-cut Katla fish, boneless and curry-cut chicken. For vegetarians, there was paneer.
2) What’s cooking? As the clock starts, students run hither and thither to pick up their ingredients. While some are fast, others take a little more time. Then the chopping and the cutting begins. Some knead the dough while others cut up the veggies. And soon the kitchen is a mixture of curious smells. Cinnamon, fried onions, garlic, the warm smell of rotis.... Boy, are we excited!
3) Finishing touches are added with just 10 minutes left, after all we eat with our eyes first. For some, there’s a lot left to do, while some have comfortably finished their dishes, with ample time in hand to plate up. Time management is key in a competition like this.
“Today we judged the students on the techniques used and the taste, and the best part was that the students had to put up an Indian dish. These days kids are so fond of their pizzas, pastas and burgers that Indian food will be tough for them. And Indian food is so vast,” said chef Sanjay Kak of IIHM who will also mentor the Super 10. “The students have done a wonderful job. Yes, they need to be polished and guided but they’re definitely on the right path,” said Smita Ganguli of IIHM.
The Super 10 — (l-r) Anoushka Saha of Mahadevi Birla World Academy, Ashish Sharma of Apeejay School, Salt Lake, Debanjana Chatterjee of The BSS School, Pragya Goenka of Delhi Public School Megacity, Ashwini Pandey of Saifee Hall, Harshvardhan Jalan of St. James’ School, Juhi Sachdev of Modern High School for Girls, Chaitali Mandal of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, Siddhant Jaiswal of Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary School (vocational section) and Agnes Bernard of La Martiniere for Girls — will fight it out in Delhi for the lone spot to represent Calcutta in the finals, which will have seven contestants from seven different cities. “The competition was tough because there were so many who were more experienced than me. For me, cooking is a new-found passion and I was nervous. Now I’m just waiting for Delhi,” said Agnes, whose idol in the culinary world is chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
