Kolkata home chefs go the whole hog for The Calcutta Porkaddicts

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From starters to desserts, it was all things pork — much to the delight of TCP members. ‘It is a wonderful picnic atmosphere. We have some of the best of the talented homechefs today. The group members were very enthusiastic about the event and slots were booked in no time. Next time we look forward to scaling up the event,’ said organiser and treasurer of TCP, Kasturi Roychoudhury

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Utsav Guhathakurta, a coder by profession, a musician at Sayatya & Friends and co-partner at Cafe Big Byang, had two delectable offerings for starters — a spicy Kanchalonka Pork and Kancha Aam Pork Belly cookies

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Marina Chung, a home chef known for stirring up world cuisine offerings in the heart of Kolkata, joined the cook up with Rice Paper Rolls with Char Siu Pork, and a Taiwanese Stir Fried Pork

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Debjani Chatterjee Alam, of popular cloud kitchen Debjanir Rannaghar, was at the event with three items — a slow-cooked British-style Pork Shoulder Stew with rice, Pulled Pork Sliders and smoky, dense Bacon Brownie

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Subhojit Sen, who was one of the top 10 on MasterChef India 8, is an engineer-turned-home chef running the cloud kitchen Harmony Pot. His first dish was Saku Sai Mu, tapioca dumplings with a pork filling served with garlic oil and fresh lettuce. The second item was a Pork Phing Bowl, glass noodles served with prawn chilli sambal, pickled cucumber, spring onion oil and chunks of pork

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Sayani Sengupta of Gooseberi, which offers venue catering services, was among the most voted home chefs. She brought in the Holi spirit with Uttarakhand ki Bhang Wali Pork Kebab with Pahadi Chutney. Describing her dish, she said, ‘It is a kebab made with hemp seeds sourced directly from Kumaon. It is my ode to the month of Holi.’ She also served a Claypot Anchovy Butter Pork with Olives served with Parker House Rolls

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Piyush Menon, former owner of The Coastal Macha restaurant that now operates as a pop-up, and guest chef for Gormei, brought south Indian flavours to the table with Mangalorean Pork Ghee Roast, a tender Kerala-style slow-cooked Pork Dry Fry and Madurai-style Bun Parotta

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Pritha Dutta, another highly voted home chef, who does occasional pop-ups and small caterings, had a Pork Patili Kebab and Pork Tabak Maaz with Walnut Chutney. For dessert, she brought Pork Halwa Mini Tarts

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Manjari Chowdhury, who runs the premium cloud kitchen, Gourmet Experience by M, had a Bekri Maze inspired by Greek Drunken Pork which had Bandel Cheese and wine. She also served Mini Quiche Lorraine with pork filling. For dessert, she had a Tart Au Citron and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

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A cook by passion and profession, Jayeeta Ghosh whipped up an appetiser and a main course dish. The Chõrbi Alusokhha Morsel was a rustic pork preparation inspired by Bauri tribal cuisine from the interiors of West Bengal. While the Sinhala Urumas with Sahal was boneless pork slow-cooked in a delicious green gravy significantly made up of Ceylon pandan leaves, chillies, jaggery and cinnamon, with a hint of fresh coconut milk

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Food connoisseur Poorna Banerjee, owner of Presented by P consultancy, and another home chef with high votes, made a crispy lechon with pork belly and rendang with pork. This was her second time participating in a cook-out and was ‘glad that people liked my food.’ She also said she was ‘proud of the way the event was handled and managed, and loved my fellow home chefs’ creativity. After the event, we all got together to eat and talk, and it was wonderful to meet and eat after all the work. Totally worth it when you see the smiles!’