Ever seen the Master Chef Australia show and involuntarily grimaced when judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris unleash their chopping criticism on the contestants and wished you were never at the receiving end of their sharp comments? The three famous judges were in Bengalaru recently for a World on a Plate event and Chef Saji P. Alex of Kochi Marriott decided to take the ‘bulls by their horns’ and present them with a tempting array of South Indian delicacies for their breakfast at the Bengalaru Marriott. Chef Saji, with an experience of twenty four years, did not have to wait long for the verdict to come out - it was a thumping ‘yes’ on all accounts for the food, the flavour, the presentation and the taste. He also had the added honour of being lavishly appreciated by Matt Preston on his twitter feed.
Saji’s joy knows no bounds with fame coming his way, what with the tweet going viral. So what did he cook for the judges that had them rave about the spread? Saji answers, “I wanted to give them the traditional Kerala delicacies so what was prepared were the traditional palappam, kallappam, idiappam, two varieties of puttu , fish molee, mutton stew, vegetable stew, beef perlan, kozhi paal pizhinjathu, egg roast and meen vevichathu . All three not only liked the food but they also asked for the recipes of some of the fare on the table.” Asked about the food that they specifically liked, Saji mentions the fish molee and mutton stew about which the judges complimented him saying that the flavours were perfectly balanced. Incidentally while the trio is finicky about using cutlery, they partook of their breakfast with their hands too.
What surprised Saji was the way the three dug into the spicy meen vevichathu. He states, “I was a little worried because the dish is spicy but the judges mentioned that they would have tolerated it being spicier. They added that they liked this dish the best and asked for the recipe.” While the trio has many a contestant shivering in their aprons, Saji was not at all nervous about cooking for the famed judges. He opines, “I know my food and while they may be masters of their food, here I am the master of mine! I also have years of experience so I was not tensed, just excited to see, talk and interact with them.”
The judges went food tripping in Bengalaru sampling street fare and visiting the market. Going by the twitter feed pictures of their food sojourn, they would be a few kilos heavier by the time they leave the Garden city.
