Media Release
Mangaluru, Oct 19: Expert PU College, Valachil, hosted ‘Expert Master Chef’ contest for the students and parents at its Sigma auditorium in association with Spices and Chefs, a unit of Spade Integrated Services Pvt Ltd on October 15, in relevance to the World Food Day which falls on October 16 every year.
As many as 550 students took part in the preliminary round. The final round consisted of 14 groups and each team was made up of three students and one parent. The students had to prepare 5 dishes such as starter, main course and dessert within 120 minutes under the supervision of the judges. Contestants prepared delicious dishes ranging from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
Prof P Valsaraj, associate professor, Welcome-group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, MAHE, Manipal, as the chief guest, inaugurated the culinary contest by tempering spices (tadka).
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Valsaraj said, "It is a celebration and preservation of Indian cuisine. It's very important that we document and pass on the rich culinary heritage of India to our future generations. Conducting this master chef competition for the students at this age is much ideal".
Prof Narendra L Nayak, chairman, Expert group of institutions, Mangaluru, said, "Irrespective of any career children choose, cooking is very imperative and it will enhance the possibility of success in life.”
Dr Ushaprabha N Nayak, vice chairperson, opined that of all artistic skills in the world, cooking is the first priority and having universal appeal.
Ustad Rafique Khan, trustee of Expert College, was the guest of honour on the occasion. On the judging panel, Chef Komal Prabhu, CKK, kitchen of Maharaja Family Restaurant, Mangaluru, Colin Hungrymen, Adesh Shetty, from Asia patio and co-judges Deeraj B Udyavar, Suchitra S Shenoy and Arathi Deeraj were present.
The winning team of Master Chef Contest 2023 was Team SESAMUM and the team members were Rylan Shawn Noronha, Samarth Jagadeesh, Chaitanya T Patil, of D1 batch and Ramya Dayanandan (parent from Bengaluru). The first runner-up was Team LINUM and the team members were Tathwashi D A, Nidhi Virupaksha, Anagha K A of E1 batch and Ashwini B R (parent from Chkkamagaluru). The second runner-up was QUINOA, team members were Manognya P Gowda, Prerana Srinivas, Raghavi Gowda A H of C1 batch and Latha H L (parent from Hassan).
Architect, Deepika A Nayak, Dr N K Vijayan Karippal, principal Expert PU College, Valachil, Ashwin Pais, director, Spices and Chefs, Rajesh E T, unit head Spices and Chefs, and Deepa Shetty, (head of the library department) is the programme director and other faculty members were present on the occasion.
Anitha P Shetty and Nishatt Fathima, faculties welcomed the dignitaries and compered the programme.