The “2^nd All India Korean Culinary Challenge 2021” jointly organized by Korean Cultural Centre India and Banarasidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology came to an applauding end.

The three-round event was divided in two categories; professional (Hotel management & Culinary School Students included) and Non-Professional (open to all).

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  In the Non-professional category, Gazal Taneja (24 Years) a student from Chandigarh won the first prize and will receive 50,000 rupees in cash along with an LG refrigerator. She prepared Korean Snack Platter in the finale round which had Korean fried chicken, corn chesses, Vegetable Pan Cake, and Chiken Kimbaps. She is making kimchi for the last 4 yrs, and after doing 2 months of sampling of Kimchi supply she is planning for a kimchi-making and delivery business.

26 years old Saba Naj won the 2^nd position and will receive 30,000 rupees in cash along with an LG dishwashing machine. Cooking came to her as an inherent property from her mother. She runs a cooking show ‘Cook with Saba’ on YouTube, which is also a source of inspiration for Korean dishes. She made Bibimbap in the final round.

The third-place winner Hufrish K Sethna (21 Years) from Mumbai is a Korean language student and is planning to study in Korea. She is fond of cooking and had learned Korean cooking from Social media channels. She prepared Indo _Korean fusion with Japchae and Parasi bafat, which was mouthwatering. She will receive 15,000 rupees in cash along with LG water purifier. Hufrish

  In the Professional category, Junaid Sharif won the first prize and will receive 50,000 rupees in cash along with a LG refrigerator. Shreshth Jangir, the 2^nd place holder will receive 30,000 rupees in cash along with a LG dish washing machine. In 3^rd position Akshita Kashyap will be awarded the 3rd prize and will receive 15,000 rupees in cash along with LG water purifier.

H.E. Chang Jae-bok, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India said, “Having tasted the richness of Indian food locally, I understand why my eldest son in Korea loves Indian food so much and Indian food is gaining popularity in Korea.”

  Hwang Il-Yong, the director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “I would like to thank Banashidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology for graciously accepting the proposal again this year, following last year and LG India who is sponsoring the event. Through the creative challenges of Indian people through Korean-Indian cuisine, Korean food created by Indians is not limited to simply ‘replicated Korean food’, but is reproduced as ‘Indian culture’ and ‘Indian food’. I wish this localized Korean food and culture can penetrate deeply into India and Indian people`s heart.”.

   Chef Kim Ji-yeol, who judged the final 10 finalists, said, “I was surprised that the participants have a high level of understanding of Korean seasoning. As a Korean chef working at the Embassy, I am proud that Indian people are showing keen interest in Korean food after seeing Korean-style fusion dishes that contain Indian culture.”

Event details

In first-round participants had to choose any Korean culinary with an authentic recipe or innovative fusion with Indian cuisine and had to share their own cooking video via mail to KCCI. The best 20 videos advanced to the second round on the basis of creativity, performance, authenticity (recipe, ingredient, etc.), cooking skills, final dish demonstration, video editing, etc.

The 2^nd round saw these 20 videos judged on the number of views and likes on hosts` Social Media service channels from November 23 to December 4. The judges evaluate all processes and results of each participants` cooking.

Ten finalists, five from each category, participated in the third and final round, where they were asked to submit their second cooking video for the final competition by a four-member professional jury panel.

The four expert jury included Amit Lohani, national convener, founder, and director for Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), who also runs Max Inc. (a luxury grocery trading company). Professor Kundu Ranojit, who is in charge of the Bakery and Pastry Department at Banashidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, and Kim Ji-yeol, chef of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea who has won numerous culinary competition awards, including the Gold Medal in the 2016 International Culinary Competition hosted by the Korea Culinary Association.