Yellow Chilli picks Kitchen Master winners

MUSCAT: The Yellow Chilli restaurant in association with Mazaya Oman has concluded its ‘Kitchen Master’ cooking competition in Muscat recently.

In the world of competitive cooking, The Yellow Chilli Kitchen Master is a typical, refreshing and a new lease of life to some exceptional hidden culinary talents in Oman. Presentation, taste, texture, completeness, originality, plate composition, knowledge and use of the main ingredients were the criteria for the foursome judges to narrow the overwhelming entries and some fierce competition for the Kitchen Master top 10 finalists, saysa press release.

Taken over by none other than the MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor himself after the pep talk, sipping, sniffing, lip smacking and marking, The Yellow Chilli Kitchen Master 2016 was awarded to Shruti Sunny Sanghavi; Oneza Tabish was the first runner up and the second runner up was Gulnar Akbar Ustad.

The contest was held at The Yellow Chilli’s second outlet in Muscat at the Panorama Mall.

“Yellow Chilli is one of the spices that imparts a unique flavour to a dish and Indian food is all about layering flavours and textures. Indian cooking is a celebration of a blend of spices and herbs, the cooking techniques and the pride with which the food is served and that is what The Yellow Chilli bring to the fore,” clarified Tirthankar Basu, the business head of Mazaya Oman.

Earlier during the cook off addressing the audience, the man behind The Yellow Chilli, Sanjeev Kapoor in his televised communication said, “The Yellow Chilli Kitchen Master 2016 is a medium I want to share with you, it does not make a difference of what people think of what you are and who you really are. Normally at the core at the heart you would always be the same person you have been all your life. You try and make yourself better for yourself and your loved ones and Kitchen Master is the platform which Mazaya Oman along with The Yellow Chilli is presenting as an opportunity to all the food lovers (both as a cook and enthusiast) a platform to redeem yourself.”

Basu reiterated that the contest is not about professionals but all those beautiful people who make a difference daily when they prepare something for their loved ones at home with all their heart and that is the quality they wanted to bring out in The Yellow Chilli Kitchen Master contest. He also praised the mainstay of the event, the immensely hardworking team members and volunteers from all sections of Mazaya Oman be it accounts, HR, IT, marketing who ensured that the event was successful and flawless.

The judges panel for the initial round was a panel formed with Manoj Radi, head chef, The Yellow Chilli; Priyanka Patel, renowned food blogger, photographer and founder of ‘Happiness On my Plate’ and Khalid Al Raisi and Anood Al Maawali, the husband & wife team of the popular food blog ‘Mr & Mrs Reviews’. The judges individually tasted, marked and selected the finalists for the August 24 final cook-off judged by Sanjeev Kapoor. The two days cook-off was a mind blowing affair and had an amazing buzz and a sense of participation and involvement among all the contestants. After a day of nail-biting wait The Yellow Chilli announced the finalists of The Yellow Chilli Oman’s Kitchen Master 2016. According to the judges, with so much culinary talent on show, choosing the finalists was a difficult task and all participants should be commended for their exceptional efforts.

The finalists were Uttara Chakraborty, Sidrah Kola, Pratibha Lara, Sidra Mariyam, Nupur P. Mathur, Leena Shah, Shruti Sunny Sanghavi, Oneza Tabish, Gulnar Akbar Ustad and Rupali Vaidya.

Chef Radi said that the judges looked for dishes which are simplistic yet innovative food preparation can stand out in this ever evolving culinary world. This is something they are trying to capture in the Kitchen Master. All culinary enthusiasts have been offered this platform to bring out their own creative spin in Indian gastronomic delight and a chance to meet Chef Sanjeev Kapoor in the finale.

During the second and final cook-off each of the contestants created a dish which is personally judged by Sanjeev Kapoor.

Sayan Ganguly from the marketing team of Mazaya Oman had a word of reassurance for all the participants, to take this opportunity in the creative spirit.

Sanjeev Kapoor thanked everyone who participated and helped make this contest a success.