To
celebrate the spirit of fatherhood and this special bond, Food Maniacs by
Vickrham and Ikreate by Aditi conceptualized a great Fathers Day Cook Off in
association with Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon. The idea behind creating such an event
was to dedicate a day to fathers and what better than cooking their favourite
dish and honoring them.
Once
the thought was seeded, the teams fleshed out the idea in detail and there was
no looking back. People were more than welcoming of the idea and the
contestants for the cook off were selected in no time. To make the cook off
more exciting and at the same time a serious competition, we invited MasterChef
Season 5 Star Siddharth Talwar who along with Executive Chef Nilesh Dey was all
set to judge the culinary skills of the contestants.
A
pro set up complete with induction stoves, necessary utensils and an
interesting market place to choose ingredients from was set up by the very
efficient team of Crowne Plaza. Some serious rules were set by both the judges
to make the competition an unbiased and healthy one and the points were to be
given on presentation, wastage, cleanliness of works stations and of course
taste and innovation of the dish. All the participants seemed really excited. A
10-minute time period was given to pick up the ingredients from the market
place with an all-inclusive cooking time of 1 hour.
A wonderful contest took place between the participants,
where in every one crafted beautiful dishes, made not just with ingredients but
lots of love, dedicating the dishes to their fathers. It was a tough time for
judges to figure out which was the best dish, because trust me I am not
boasting, but each and every dish was truly remarkable. The presentation, the taste,
and the overall selection of dishes prepared by participants was done with such
expertise that it seemed as if a mini- master chef episode is in progress.
After a lot of tussle, judges finally decided to give way not one but two
prizes as choosing one did not seem justified. Even those who did not win, were
still winners as the gap was just about1-2 marks here and there.
Speaking
at the event, Chef Siddharth said, "The Fathers day special cook off event
hosted by Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon, Media Event Partnered by Vickrham (vicky)
of Foodmaniacs and organised by Aditi of Ikreate was one of the best cook off
events judged by me. A very meticulously arranged and coordinated event went
off very smoothly and without a doubt had the best chosen contestants. Best of ingredients, equipments and
contestants will always make a contest a memorable one. Kudos to all".
Now came the
toughest part for the judges as each and every dish was better than the other
and it was a really tough choice to select a winner. Sandeep Batra, who cooked GolMirch Chicken and Rita Arora,
who prepared a lovely Chicken Roulade were declared as top winners, but like I
said, others too were winners in their own regards. We got to taste some lovely
and unique dishes like South Indian Style Pasta, Laal Maas, Fried Fish with
Coconut Sauce (Meen Moili Style), Tamatar Jeera Chicken, Chicken Koftas and
some Juicy Chicken Legs.
A
special prize was given to two kids, Myeshha and Armaan who amazed the judges
by preparing lovely Chicken Grilled Sandwiches.
Our
endeavour has always been to bring you the best of events, especially which are
engaging and provide an opportunity to people to come forward and be a part of it.
Father’s Day cookout session has been highly successful as the response was overwhelming,
participation was overwhelming. We thank Exec. Chef Nilesh Dey, Crowne Plaza Today,
Gurgaon for his impeccable setup and arrangements for this cook out session.” said
Vickrham, the founder of Foodmaniacs, a celebrated food and hospitality blogger
and event curator.
“I
would really like to thank Foodmaniacs, Chef Siddharth and Ikreate including
the participants for the competitive show which has been a great event and
learning for all of us. Me and my team at Crowne Plaza Today, Gurgaon are
thankful for being chosen as the venue Partner for this grand event on Father’s
Day. This event has left some great memories on us, which will be sought after
for a long time.” Said Chef Nilesh Dey
“We
believed totally in this concept as cooking for your loved ones never fail, and
hence we thought what better than showing some love to your father by cooking
for him on Father’s Day and tried making it more interesting by adding the
competition layer to it. And now as we see great participation and turn out,
our belief is stronger than before and we look forward to organize many such
events, expressed Aditi, Founder, Ikreate, a food and lifestyle blogger, and a
marketing expert.
The winner announcement was then followed by a high tea
session, where in we got to interact with participants, try their delectable
dishes, and also indulge in some lip smacking snacks served by Crowne Plaza.
The winners carried beautiful hampers back home and the bloggers were given a
lovely cake by the hotel.
Overall it turned out to be a great event, much greater than
expected. I thank first and foremost my partnering Team Ikreate by Aditi Malhotra
for the support. Crowne Plaza Today, Gurgaon for believing in our concept and
becoming our Hospitality Partner, all the participants, without whom this won’t
have been possible, bloggers and media for making the buzz about the event,
keep doing it guys, thanks to you all, and last but not the least, the PR team
of Crowne Plaza, Chef Nilesh Dey and Master Chef Siddharth Talwar for being
part of our event. Also a big thank you to all the fathers and for sure mothers
too…. Look forward to many more events together.