The Hindu’s Our State Our Taste cooking competition saw an enthusiastic turnout during the preliminary round held in Vellore on Saturday and Tiruvannamalai on Sunday.
According to a press release, a multitude of participants showcased their culinary skills. In the contest, participants were tasked with preparing a traditional dish from Tamil Nadu or creatively reinterpreting a classic recipe. The simplicity of the rules belied the challenging nature of the task, leading to a fierce competition among the contestants.
In the Vellore edition held on Saturday, K. Kotteswari won the competition, wowing the judges with her dishes, which included karuppu ulundu kali, kambu soup, and vazhai poo pakoda. Rubini and Beena Samvel were chosen as runners-up.
In the Tiruvannamalai round held on Sunday, Mohana Priya was chosen as the winner for her chakkarai pongal and 60 other dishes. D. Saroja, S. Anitha, M. Anudhar, A. Sulthana Parveen, and Sadaf Afreen were chosen as the runners-up.
Celebrity chef Damu, alongside Arun Krishna Kumar, Gold Winner ASM; Vikneswaran, partner at RKG; Sunil, sales manager from Butterfly, Saranya, marketing manager, Elite Foods; Santhosh, TSM, Bambino, among others participated.
The final will take place in Chennai on December 16. Mr. Damu will judge, and the grand prize for the contest is set at ₹1 lakh, while the second and third-place winners will receive ₹60,000 and ₹40,000, respectively.
Our State Our Taste is brought to you by Gold Winner and powered by Butterfly, in association with RKG, Aashirvaad, and Elite Foods. Bambino is the vermicelli partner; Parry’s is the sugar partner; Coir-On is the comfort partner; G Square is the realty partner; SRM Institute of Hotel Management is the hotel management partner; DBS Bank India Limited is the banking partner; Chef Damu is the knowledge partner; and RKV Residency and Rathna Residency are the venue partners, the release said.
