With the concept of providing the ‘red carpet' of recognition for chefs this year in true Hollywood style they presented their moment of Glory. "We realise that every Chef and F&B professional needs their red carpet moment. With Planet Hollywood supporting our endeavour we planned a culinary extravaganza with all the ingredients for networking, knowledge sharing and of course our very own Goan ‘masala'," said Mascarenhas.
The day started with the lamp lighting in the presence of dignitaries such as Anand Chaterjee GM Planet Hollywood, co-founders of the Goan Culinary Club Odette and Joe Mascarenhas, Chefs of the culinary Forum of Goa.
The opening act was on Food styling by Exec Chef Zafar Ali of The Leela Bangalore, who had the participants enthralled with creative thoughts and thinking out of the box in his presentation.
This was followed by an interesting discussion on authenticity of food served in Goa by a panel of chefs from the 5-star hotels. This was moderated by Exec Chef Cidade de Goa Sunit Sharma, Vice President of The Culinary Forum of Goa.
The topic of discussion was: ‘Is Goa really providing ‘authentic' cuisines from its kitchens? What are the factors that create and affect the preparations'. The points of discussion revolved around the definition of authentic food, what's the the criteria and how to fix the criteria. It extended to an exchange of ideas on how to maintain the authenticity in the fast paced life and in the the era of cost rationalisation and business pressures. Changing ingredients, some ingredients becoming extinct or rare, new cooking methods and expectations of guests were some of the core points of this debate.
There was an introduction to Vietnamese cuisine by Chef Sherap Lodoe of the Blue Ginger restaurant in Taj West End Bangalore with his exotic dishes from Vietnam, from the famous Vietnamese paper rolls, soups and red curry and dessert.
Award winning photo journalist Nolan Mascarenhas gave a very informative talk and presentation on the modern trends in food and social networking and how to create a brand profile for the chefs. This interactive and participative session was well received by the participants.
Then there was Chef Ajay Konejiya of Delta Nutritives who created 4 desserts in 45 minutes from start to finish. These were: White Chocolate Mousse with wine and berries collies, Belgium Chocolate Brownies with Malaga ganache, Plum cake and the Irish Cream Brule.
Another discussion with panel members which created a lot of enthusiasm was the lack of skilled manpower in the hospitality industry and the retention of good staff. This was moderated by Exec Chef Behera of Taj Fort Aguada.
There was also a session on wine appreciation and wine and food pairing by professionals of Pernod Ricard, the ambassador for Pernod Ricard Wine, who educated the participants on wine appreciation and single malt from Scotland.
The audience also gleaned great knowledge from other expert speakers such as Chef of the year 2014, Chef Vikramjit Roy, who was called the best Japanese cooking Chef's of the country by none other than Vir Sanghvi; and Paul O'Connor; The Chivas Brothers Brand Ambassador who has been conducting whisky master classes and appreciations worldwide.
There was a discussion on Hyderabadi Biryani's by celebrity gourmet food critic Sankalp Vishnu that explored topics such as the origin of Biryani, difference between Biryani and Pulao and a presentation on what makes Hyderabadi Biryani stand out.
The Planet Hollywood team of chefs under the leadership of Exec Chef Sunder served an exotic array of delicacies on the buffet with live counters to keep the chefs happy.
