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Hilton bags
Black Box silver Such was the scene at the biennial "Black Box Competition" (sponsored by the Australian Meat and Livestock), in Japan last month. With participants working in the kitchens of highly acclaimed hotels all over the South Asian Pacific region, the pressure was tremendous. But the 'culinary heroes' from the Hilton Colombo, four chefs, who were chosen to represent Sri Lanka after a previous round of regional heats did their country proud by winning the silver medal. The Lankan team consisted of Rohan Fernandopulle, team leader and Chief Executive Chef at the Hilton Colombo and junior chefs, K.L Manawadu, Lakshman Amrawansa and Dimuthu Manchanayake who have all spent six years in the Hilton kitchen. The competition was held to coincide with the 30th World Congress of the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) which opened at the Takaragaike Prince Hotel in Japan on March 25th. On the 24th, a black box of mystery ingredients was given to each team. They were instructed to plan and finalise a three-course western menu within an hour and then prepare it for the 550 people attending the congress. Each team was expected to prepare 50 portions each of the appetiser, main course and dessert. The ingredients provided were primarily Australian. This factor as well as the time constraint had to be kept in mind whilst planning the menu which Mr Fernandopulle said promoted "intelligent thinking'. The international panel of judges were recognised professionals of the culinary establishment, who were judging the teams on several categories including taste, correct preparation, presentation and proper utilisation of all ingredients. In addition to the practical side of cooking, the competition also examined how inventive and efficient a chef is under pressure. Considering this the Sri Lankan team spent the night preparing the menu. The result: a very creative and innovative combination, including a French appetiser known as tomato-sultin'E' Espuma which was commended as "What you would find in France" by the French judges. The main course also was proof of the team's originality; they were provided with a particular cut of Australian beef, which chefs rarely use, therefore introducing a testing element into the competition. All teams had to try out different ways of cooking the meat, yet Sri Lanka was the only one whose experiment achieved optimum taste. The dessert appropriately called "Sweet temptations of the Black Box"consisted of two hot dishes and two cold dishes and proved to be a complementary conclusion to the menu. When asked how they felt about coming second, narrowly losing the gold to Malaysia, Mr Fernandopulle said, "When you are competing with the top chefs in the region, coming second is a huge achievement in itself." Director of Marketing and Communications at the Colombo Hilton, Yasmin Cader said that this accomplishment has provided "experience and exposure" for the three junior chefs. The Hilton hopes to introduce the award winning menu to their guests, though when that will be has not been specified yet. |
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