A taste for excellence

The journey was not as easy as she thought, but her passion and love for food made Trisha Reddy win the title of Young Chef India. The Hyderabadi student crossed many stages to enter the final round of IIHM Young Chef India Schools 2017, one of the country’s largest culinary competitions, where her Hyderabadi chicken and bell pepper rice, along with another dish helped her seize the title.

Trisha with chef Kunal

“I didn’t expect that I would win. But after the competition was over, and I finally saw it on TV again, the feeling finally sunk in,” says Trisha, who completed her Class XI from Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet.

“I had to make two portions of every dish in the given time, using the specified ingredients. It was not as easy as it sounds. But, a lot of people voted for me. As for the competition, 20 per cent of the result was based on the votes and the remaining 80 per cent marks were based on cooking,” says Trisha, adding, “In the finals, during one of the rounds, we were asked to make malpua. Being a South Indian, I did not know much about it, whereas people from other zones did. We were handed over an eight-line recipe, and that made it even more difficult. But, I did my best and here I am, with the winner’s title.”

Trisha has been interested in cooking since she was 10. Although her first dish, like many of us, was instant noodles, she quickly developed an interest for cooking and went on to experiment with her dishes. “My dad loves to cook. He is especially inclined towards a fusion style of cooking. I drew inspiration from both my parents. But if not for my teacher, Maneesha ma’am, who picked me for the competition and kept encouraging me throughout, this might not have been possible,” says the 16-year-old, who wants to hone her skills and open her own restaurant when she grows up.