Participants at the ‘Our State - Our Taste’ cookery contest held in Coimbatore on Saturday. (right) The five prize winners at the Our State - Our Taste cookery contest for the title Tamil Nadu's Master Chef. Also seen in the picture are the K. Periaiah, Commissioner of Police (third left) and Chef Dhamu (fourth left), Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sujith Kumar (standing third right) along with sponsors and panel of judges. | Photo Credit: S_SIVA SARAVANAN more-in Culinary contest titled “Our State-Our Taste” to battle for the title Master Chef of Tamil Nadu evoked good response from the home makers as well as male members here on Saturday. Cutting across age and gender, around 400 enthusiastic people participated in the contest for the title conducted by The Hindu at Vivanta by Taj Surya in the city. The contest was inaugurated by Vanitha Mohan, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The team of judges was lead by culinary expert Chef Damu. The team included Chef Ashok. The Residency Tower, Chef Ganapathy, Executive Chef, Kiscol Hotels and Sarath Chandra Banerjee, Executive Chef, Vivanta by Taj Surya. The participants were judged on the basis of taste, flavour, texture and presentation of their food. “The judging was quite difficult as the participants were very competitive. Many dishes were new to us. It was evident from their food that they had put a lot of effort towards it. The response was great and the crowd was very enthusiastic” said Mr. Damu. Men participation “It is surprising and happy to see men equally participating in cookery contests. A lot of forgotten recipes of our the state were cooked by many participants and I am sure to try my own hand in it.” said Mr. Sarath Chandra Banerjee. Winner The winner of the event was Grace Ruth Jinish for her ‘chocolate thali’ dessert. The runners up were R. Padma Priya, P. Kalaiselvi, G. Kumathavalli and Yasmin Jahangeer. “I never expected to make till here. It was a wonderful experience. Now I'll have to gear up for the finals” said Grace Ruth, who along with the four runners up will participate in the final round which will be held in Chennai. City Commisioner of Police K. Periaiah presented trophies to the winners and Sujith Kumar, Deputy Commisioner of Police (Traffic), gave away the certificates. Winners also got prizes from the sponsors, S. Sivanesan, MD, Premier Cookware and Appliances, Rajadurai, Business Head, Naga Food Products, N. Kumar, Director, Arusuvai Arasu Masala, Ganesha Pandian, MD, Shri Ambika Agencies. Title sponsor for the event is Premier Cookware and Appliances; co-powered by Naga Food Products and Fortune Sunflower Oil and Masala Partner by Arusuvai Arasu and Knowledge partner is Mr. Damu. This was an initiative by: THEME – The Hindu Group Events, Meets and Experiences.

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