GICC: Chefs whip up culinary talent

Bhavika Jhaveri - Mumbai

Sumptuous and exotic dishes were the order of the day in the second edition of the Great Indian Culinary Challenge 2006 (GICC), the only professional culinary competition in India, held alongside the recently concluded HospitalityWorld 2006. Senior and apprentice chefs from the leading hotels in the country, along with trainees and students came together to slug it out, as they displayed their culinary art and cooking styles.

Divided into two segments, there were eight different categories in the first segment - namely pastry show pieces, fruit and vegetable carving, butter and margarine sculpture, plated appetisers, petit fours, pralines and desserts. The second segment saw chefs displaying their talent on the stove. There were 61 participants, mostly professionals, in the first segment and 63 in the second, which attracted professionals, students, and apprentices. The event was judged by eminent chefs like S Zacharia - general secretary, Indian Culinary Forum, Gerard Mendis - chairman - Chefs Guild of Lanka, Gev Desai - area chef - ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Mumbai, Vernon Coelho - head of department, food production - Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, and Mougam Pareatumbee - secretary - Mauritius Chefs Association.

The prime objective of the GICC was to establish a professional platform where culinary professionals across India could display their individual and combined skills, creative talent, learn, share experiences, partner and network in a purely businesslike and competitive environment. With increasing global popularity of traditional and modern evolved Indian cuisine and India today becoming a WACS member, it is all the more important and imperative for India to establish a platform that aids in operating in a dynamic and globally challenging scenario.

Reiterating this, S Zacharia, said, "It is very useful for the trade, as it provides the upcoming chefs a lot of insight as to what the leading hotels are doing in terms of innovation, ingredients, presentation and so on." Expressing similar views, Gev Desai, says, "It's a good platform for students, as it helps in raising the standard and bar of international competence." Mougam opines that the base for such competitions is still fragile and needs to be strengthened. "Cooking is not only about eating but it is an art. There aren't many culinary competition at present, but if you don't face the obstacles, you won't graduate to the next level."

Coelho, who was also part of the panel last year, feels that the event, which is just in its second year, still has scope for growth. "If you look at it from international perspective there is still a lot of scope for improvement. On an average it is better than last year, and more hotels have participated too. However, the participants have a lot to learn in terms of presentation, preparation and understanding the portion size of the product."

In some of the categories, the jury pointed out that many of the participants concentrated on appearance and artistry rather than the portion size. The judges also urged for more support for aspiring chefs from the senior management of the hotels. As Mendis puts it, "Senior chefs should be more involved with these kind of events. It is important for the long-term growth of the industry. Chefs should be sent to participate in other countries where they can learn and improve, and that would benefit the company as well."

In all, there were 35 medals awarded across all categories and surprisingly, there were no gold winners this year. Silver medals were given out to 11 participants, and bronze to 24 on the last day of the event. When asked the reason for not presenting a gold medal, Coelho said, "As a panel we had decided to achieve a certain standard. We aren't here to create a false sense of elation. Gold signifies perfection, so winners of bronze and silver should put in extra effort and improve their performance next time around."

The GICC is fully supported and technically partnered by the apex body of Indian chef community - The Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), and regional associations viz. Western India Culinary Association, South India Culinary Association and The Indian Culinary Forum.