by NR INDRAN / INT

METRO Cash & Carry India, in association with the Food Lovers Club, announced Chef Pushpender Yadav, from Vivanta by Taj, MG Road as the winner of the second Young Chefs’ Culinary Challenge in the city of Bangalore. Titled ‘Produce to Plate – Young Chefs’ Culinary Challenge 2011’, the challenge saw twenty-five (25) of the most talented and upcoming chefs from across hotels, hotel chains and restaurants in the city gather at a common platform and display their culinary skills by producing some of the finest gourmet dishes for Bangalore foodies. The 25 participants underwent a series of challenges and eliminations before the nine best of the lot reached the final round.

The results were declared at a gala evening which witnessed many known celebrity chefs and other respectable people from the industry. Chef Pushpender Yadav received a certificate, a gold medal and a cash prize of Rs. 61,000/-. The Silver medal was bagged by Chef Arun A.G., with a cash prize of Rs. 41,000 and a certificate whereas the Bronze medal was bagged by Chef Vignesh S along with a cash prize of Rs 31,000 and the certificate. The winners received attractive METRO hampers and the exclusive opportunity to be featured in Food Lovers magazine, Bangalore. All the other participants received certificates of participation.

Mr. Ajay Sheodaan, Director, Customer Management, METRO Cash and Carry India said, “METRO is uniquely positioned to support hotels and restaurants that cater to clientele with discerning palates and exposure to a wide variety of international cuisines. For us, the Young Chefs’ Culinary Challenge 2011 was a wonderful and a successful opportunity to encourage these promising chefs to sample, experiment with and create culinary masterpieces from the vast range of high quality products we offered. I wish the winners and every other participant congratulations and all the luck for their future”

Winner Chef Pushpender Yadav expressed, “The Young Chefs’ Culinary Challenge is a unique platform created exclusively for young professional chefs like us. This challenge gave each and every one of us a huge opportunity to showcase our culinary talents. I am immensely thankful to METRO Cash & Carry and Food Lovers Club for having given us such a platform, and encouraging our talents.”

Mr. Kripal Amanna, Founder & Managing Director at Hospitality Initiatives India Pvt. Ltd. said, “This challenge is part of an initiative to create a sustainable platform to recognize and celebrate the talent of young chefs who work diligently to create fabulous culinary experiences. We hope that this endeavor will also eventually synergize with the industry’s endeavor to nurture and encourage future culinary leaders.”

METRO’s impressive array of over 3000 items ranges from fresh produce to gourmet ingredients, culinary equipment, professional cookware and serve-ware designed to fulfill the complete product needs of the F&B industry – and all of this was at the disposal of the participating young maestros as they pushed the envelope in creating culinary masterpieces designed to tempt the most experience palate – won great honours from their peers in the industry.

METRO Cash & Carry is represented in 30 countries with around 700 self-service wholesale centers. With more than 100,000 employees worldwide, the company achieved sales of about € 31 billion in 2010. METRO Cash & Carry is a sales division of the METRO GROUP.

The Preliminary rounds of the Young Chefs’ Culinary Challenge were held on the 7th and 8th of December 2011 at METRO Cash & Carry, Yeshwantpur. Participants were required to create a 3-course meal for two, and were judged by a panel comprising top chefs and gourmets of the city. Short-listed participants moved on to the final rounds, and will be honored in a glitzy awards ceremony attended by senior professionals of the F&B and Hospitality industry and select gourmets. Winners were awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, in addition to attractive cash prizes and the privileged opportunity to be featured in Food Lovers magazine.

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