WALES WINS NATIONAL CURRY CROWN
AT THE
SOUTH ASIAN CHEF COMPETITION (SACC) NATIONAL FINAL 2009
For the fifth year running, Aagrah Restaurant Group hosted the national finals of South Asian Chef Competition 2009 hosted in Bradford, the curry capital of UK.
Top chefs from the SACC 2009 regional finals held earlier this year participated in the national finals held yesterday in bid to win the national trophy for the South Asian Chef Competition 2009. They spun their spatulas, looped their ladels and primed their pots to pit their culinary skills against other masters of the art of South Asian cooking to win the coveted prize of a £1,000 winners cheque.
The winners were announced at Aagrah Restaurant’s gala dinner last night, they are:
First Place – South Asian Chef of the Year 2009
Siddartha Singh Rathore – Speciality Chef at the Mint & Mustard, Cardiff.
Second Place
Tina Ditchfield – Llandrillo College, Wales
Third Place
Amardeep Singh Anand - Executive Chef at the Jaipur Restaurant – Orchid Lounge, Milton Keynes.
Healthy Heart Award
Amardeep Singh Anand
Innovation Award
Mahesh Rathudi - Corporate Chef for the Moksh Group in the central kitchen, Cardiff.
Runners-Up
Guru Prasad – Head Chef of the Moksh Group main restaurant in Cardiff
Mahesh Rathudi - Corporate Chef of the Moksh Group
Avijit Mondal – Indian Chef at the Saffron Group of Restaurants
Rashid Ali Khan – Chef-de-partie at Saffron Blue Restaurant
They were asked to whip up delicious, well-presented dishes using original recipes in a bid to carry off the prestigious accolade. Chefs had the chance to wow a panel of food experts with tantalising tikkas, blistering baltis and mouthwatering murghs.
Chefs were tested at the national final heat culminating in an edge-of-seat cook-off at the Leeds City College – Thomas Danby Campus where the judges chose the three most outstanding cooks as the winners plus runners up.
The competition, which aims to encourage chefs to be creative and adventurous with their recipes, is open to professional chefs able to produce South Asian Cuisine from all culinary and cultural backgrounds currently working in restaurants, hotels and for food manufacturers.
The high-profile SACC awards recognises outstanding achievement in all areas of culinary skills. It also helps to raise the profile of the chefs and restaurants participating and brings companies to the attention of UK’s leading businesses attending the ceremony. The awards were announced at the Aagrah Restaurant’s Annual 27th Charity Business Dinner & SACC’s National Awards ceremony on October 12th 2009 at The Aagrah Midpoint Suite, Bradford.