The second edition of the Hyatt Culinary Challenge saw CEOs of various firms and kids from SMILE Foundation preparing mouth-watery dishes in 45 minutes
On Saturday, CEOs of various companies took time out from their busy schedule to take part in the second edition of the Hyatt Culinary Challenge, a cook off held in the city. While most of them donned the chef’s hat, a few let their wives play the role. The participants were judged on the basis of hygiene, presentation, difficulty level and taste. The participants, joined by children from the SMILE Foundation, had 45 minutes to cook and present their dish.
Navaneet Mishra, vice-president of Hexagon, admits that all he could make is bread and omelette. So he let his wife take his place for the competition. Navaneet’s wife Shalini, with 11-year-old Gangadhar, cooked Sesame Corn Toast. Another participant, Shashi Ketu, CEO of Total Environment, chose to cook his family’s favourite dish — Mexican black bean rice, with 10-year-old Mahesh. He was the runner-up of the event. “I decided to make a dish my whole family loves.”
Spandana Sripada, daughter of the Head of HR, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Dr Chandrasekhar Sripada, counts it as one of her best experiences so far. “I love baking. The two children, Shobha and Pooja, were a big help throughout the competition.” Subramanyam S.P., CEO of Infionic, is a foodie who loves to cook and lives with the funda ‘If I like something, I should be able to cook it as well’. At the competition, Subramanyam cooked Chickpea burger with watermelon Feta salad.
The winner of the competition, however, was Swetha Reddy, director of VC Laboratories, whose husband Vinod Reddy heads the company. With 13-year-old Samson, she cooked spaghetti with meat balls and will now participate in the grand finale of the Culinary Challenge to be held in Mumbai on November 15. Talking about the experience, Shweta says, “In the beginning, I was a bit reluctant to participate, but my husband encouraged me. I participated to have a good time here. I am really happy about winning.”
