City chef to tickle taste buds in London

City chef to tickle taste buds in London

Krisha Sanghavi,17,is among six finalists who will be pitted against one another on international platform

Abinitha Shivakumar bmfeedback@gmail.com


Dum aloo,Kashmiri malai kofta,gajjar ka halwa and the Indian flag the flavours and colours of India gave this teen her first taste of success.The 17-year-old city girl is now all settocookupastormontheinternationalstage.KrishaSanghavisculinaryaffairstartedwhenas a little girl she would stand among the pots and panswhilehermotherandgrandmotherturned out the staples of a Gujarati kitchen.The rich aromas and tantalising tastes made her hungry for more,and she joined her schools cookery club which introduced her to Mexican and Italian food.Krishas passion was further fuelled by TV shows,and she made her foray into cooking with desserts.Her moist cakes and rich brownies earned her a steady fan base among family and friends.Egged by her ever-supportive dad,who had seen his daughter work magic with her fingers,she entered a cooking challenge in college.
Her innovative gourmet skills made the second PUC commerce student of Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain PU College one of the six finalists and South zone winner at the Young Chef India Schools 2013 title organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) and supported by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
Along with the five other competitors,Krisha will fly to London for the final cook-off at the University of West London on September 17.I was down with fever during the first round,but signed up only because of my dads encouragement, she says,recollecting the beginning of a journey that will soon climax.
Since she hails from a Gujarati family,her recipes for the first round were those handed down by her grandmother bajra rotis,stuffed aloo and onion curry,khandvi and besan ladoo.I based my dishes on the tiranga theme, says Krisha,who pays equal attention to presentation as taste.In the semi-finals,she wowed the judges with dum aloo,Kashmiri malai koftawith lachha and cheese-stuffed paratha and gajar ka halwa.Elated by the fact that the judges picked her as an example for her peers in time management and presentation,the teenager says,I will continue to cook with this motivation and bring home the title. 

NO NON-VEG DISHES,PLEASE

What if she is asked to cook a non-vegetarian dishinLondonShewouldthenhavetopolitely declinetherequest.Ihavenotcookedanynonveg dish so far in my life, says Krisha.
More than 3,000 students tested their culinary expertise in the Young Chef India Schools 2013 competition.

Krishas (second from right) culinary affair started in her childhood