City chefs shine at global culinary competition in Sri Lanka

It is not often that the people working for long hours at restaurants to produce the best of dishes to please our taste buds are celebrated. One of the rare occasions for chefs from the city to showcase their skills in front of a global audience was Culinary Art 2019, one among the biggest culinary competitions in South East Asia. A total of 12 chefs from the South India Chefs’ Association (SICA), a culinary body based in Chennai, had represented India at the competition. These chefs bagged 14 medals in various categories, flying the tricolour high at the event held in Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo. The event, held by Chefs Guild of Lanka, saw 2,200 professional chefs from around the world competing  for the medals.

Chefs Raender K, Santhosh Kumar M, Manikandan K, Kumara KB, Pounraj R, Sivakumar P, Saurabh Tigga, Anto SX, Eanugula S Charansai, Santhosh G, Navaneetha Krishnan S and Suresh Kanna G represented SICA and the country at the culinary contest. They won a total of four gold medals, six silver medals and six bronze medals in the competition — across categories like fruit and vegetable carving, artistic chocolate showpiece, dress the cake competition, modern Asian cuisine, desserts and mocktail and cocktail competition. 

In the event that was judged by 40 international chefs, Chennai-based Navaneetha Krishnan’s mocktails won the coveted gold medal, while his cocktail bagged the silver medal. “My mocktails were presented around the theme of global warming and were named as ‘Hope’ and ‘Infinite’. 

The platter on which the drinks were presented had a globe painted white, with all nations appearing as one — to show that we can be hopeful of defeating global warming with combined efforts. My cocktail was named ‘Adivasi’, as a tribute to the Vedda indigenous group from Sri Lanka,” Navaneetha, 34, who works as a mocktail and cocktail consultant for many city restaurants, tells us.

Of the gold-winning drinks, ‘Hope’ contained elder flower syrup (30 ml), apple juice (60 ml), muddled basil leaves, an orange wedge and a splash of soda, while ‘Infinite’ had pink guava syrup (30 ml), maple syrup (20 ml), fresh ginger, a dash of tobasco and a splash of soda. “The event helped me learn and gather hundreds of new ideas from other chefs,” he admits. Navaneetha is also known for his drinks using regional ingredients. For instance, his thirst-quencher ‘Jallikattu’ uses tamarind, apple juice, green chilli and cumin. 

Chef Santhosh Kumar M, who runs a carving academy, won the gold in fruit and vegetable carving competition showcasing his finesse with knife. “I love art and I wanted to bring together my love for food and art together. Carving allows me to do that,” he says.

“People in fields like sports get noticed nationally for their achievements, but chefs rarely get a chance. Competitions like these allow us chefs to develop our skills and have a broader reach,” he remarks.

Representation at global competitions will encourage budding chefs from the city, says chef Damodaran K, the president of SICA. “We will also be training chefs to represent the country at the Culinary Olympics in 2020 to showcase our talent to the world,” he asserts.