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| The test in progress. Telegraph picture |
Ranchi, June 25: They were trained to gauge the criminal mind. But for the past two days, the state’s police officers turned tasters and tried to comprehend who is the better cook among 1,000 hopefuls.
To arrive at a conclusion, top officers tasted basic meals prepared by 1,000 aspiring cooks and chose 374 of them after sampling an array of Indian dishes cooked by the men at a Special Task Force (STF) recruitment drive. The cooks would be a part of the STF and would be serving battalions in rebel-hit areas.
One of the participants told The Telegraph each candidate was allotted two hours to whip up an Indian meal comprising mutton, chicken and egg dishes, soups, vegetable curries, rice, chapatis pulse and pickles.
The tasting team included Gumla police superintendent Baljit Singh, Ranchi police superintendent Richard Lakra and Seraikela police superintendent Laxman Prasad Singh.
Not trusting their taste buds alone, officers quizzed the men to gauge an individual’s ingenuity when faced with pressure and limited resources. “What will you do in case a vegetable item prepared by you turns bitter, how many chapatis are required to feed 50 constables, how much milk is required to cook rice,” were some of the questions put forth before the hopefuls after the cooking face-off was over.
Some of the questions yielded hilarious answers. When quizzed about condiments a nonplussed participant answered: “Golki (pepper) is a person who saves goals in soccer matches. Dalchini (cinnamon) is a mixture of pulse and sugar.” Another candidate from Deoghar who confused soup retorted that “soup was used for winnowing rice”.
The test began on June 23 amid tight security and ended today at Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) grounds. From tomorrow, the selections for 195 water-carriers would start at the same venue. Gumla welfare officer Jhinga Oroan, who is assisting the police personnel, conceded that the process was “tedious”. “We have to work till late in the night. Do not disturb me now,” he said when contacted.
