BADARPUR, New Delhi, July 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Agnes Bernard is the best goalkeeper of her school's football team. But on Tuesday, her biggest catch was not on the field but in the IIHM Delhi kitchen where a four course meal won her the Young Chef India Schools crown.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160714/10150454 )
The Class XII student of La Martiniere for Girls won the Young Chef finale held by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) a perfect play of time management, concept, technique, plating and taste. She beat six other finalists from Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur.
"My heart was beating a million times per minute in my throat! It still hasn't sunk in but I was confident about my main dish. I think that's the best I've ever cooked in my life," said the senior prefect of LMG who made her school proud.
"We want to congratulate her. She is a true picture of a Martinian who is an all-rounder, dedicated to her work. She is the best goalkeeper of the school's football team, is a dancer and despite living in the hostel with limited resources and access and maintaining all the rules and regulations, she manages to participate in all kinds of activities and excel," said Rupkatha Sarkar, Principal of La Martiniere for Girls.
At Tuesday's finale held on the Delhi campus of IIHM in Badarpur. Agnes along with six other finalists donned aprons and hats in order to cook up a storm, one last time. It wasn't an easy feat. There were two rounds; the first was cooking the classic French dessert Oeufs a la Neige (also known as Floating Islands) in one hour. The second was cooking a main dish that's 'Indian at heart', along with two accompaniments in two hours.
"After the first round, I wasn't so confident because I did face some difficulties in making my Ouefs a la Neige but I think I nailed my main dish," an excited Agnes told Metro post the cook-off.
The girl, whose idol in the culinary world is Sanjeev Kapoor, was inspired by South Indian cuisine and she whipped up Fish Karakozumbhu, Meen Moilee, Deconstructed Sambhar and Vendakkai Vepudu in just two hours.
"Since I'm from Calcutta I knew that people would expect me to make Bengali food and I didn't want to do anything expected, instead, I thought of my childhood vacations spent at Vizag (her father is from there), where I would gorge on tamarind rice and curries with coconut milk and decided to present that to the judges," said the girl who was christened 'Rosogolla' by her fellow contestants.
Just like the semis, when she didn't have lime for her lemon rice, Agnes didn't have the tamarind required for her sambhar. But instead of making out like last time, she used lemon to make her sambhar sour. "Thinking on the spot has saved me multiple times. I just wanted to work with simple flavours, make them well and present them in a different way. Also, I feel that Anglo-Indian and South Indian cuisine are somewhat similar," said Agnes, with a big smile plastered on her face.
Wearing the judges' hat on Tuesday were celebrity chef and principal judge Ranveer Brar, Director of Culinary Arts, lndiSmart Group; Chef Sanjay Kak of IIHM and Chef Sabyasachi Gorai of Lavaash by Saby; t2 food columnist Shaun Kenworthy played mentor.
"Overall, Agnes's dish was comfort food, very well balanced but at the same time showed sparks of brilliance. The toasted coconut in the sambhar and the quenelling of the Karakmumbhu were amazing touches so that's where she scored," said Chef Brar. "Whatever she planned, she executed it very well and she was very calm and poised. Her main dish was basic Indian food with modern twists and she didn't overdo it by cooking a lot of components, which went against some other contestants," said Chef Kak.
This is the sixth edition of Young Chef India Schools. "When we created this competition in 2011, I wanted youngsters to know basic cooking, as it is a life skill like driving or swimming. As we moved forward, I realised the huge demand for Indian chefs not just in the country but across the world, most of the participants from previous years are now pursuing a career in the culinary and hospitality field and that's great news for the ever-expanding Indian hospitality industry," said Suborno Bose, CEO of IIHM.
Apart from the winner, five other prizes were given out at the awards ceremony The Jury Award went to Karanveer Singh Arora from Delhi, Best Dessert Award was bagged by Sejal Lobo from Bangalore, Sushaanth Kuttua from Hyderabad took home the Most Organised Chef Award and Digital Savvy Chef Award was won by Sanjana Mukherjee from Ahmedabad.
Agnes also took home an award for the Best Main Course. And of course, prize money of Rs. 5 lakh that she will use for her 'college fund'. "Now, I know for sure that I want to be a chef," she told Metro before attending to a Skype call from her friends.
About International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM):
IIHM was the first collegiate program in the country offering discerning students the opportunity to be trained in globally recognised skills and earn an International Degree in Hospitality Management through its collaboration with University of West London, London.
IIHM Hotel School is already in the cities of Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bangkok. It has been providing top-class global hospitality education that has been audited by QAA, UK which is the world's most reputed accredited body.
For more information, please visit: http://www.iihm.ac.in
Helpline: +91-9831259416/18
Media Contact:
Abdullah Ahmed
[email protected]
+91-11-43204700
Director, International Institute of Hotel Management
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