Chef Angad wins ‘Quality NZ Culinary Cup’ 2020
- HIGHLIGHTS:
- More than 120 entries of chefs were shortlisted for finals.
- The panel of judges included heads of the Culinary Association, Chef Davinder Kumar, Chef Salil Fadnis, Chef Jugesh Arora and Stephen Fleming himself.
Cricket legend and Chennai Super Kings Coach Stephen Fleming today announced Chef Angad Singh Rana as the winner of New Zealand’s first ‘Virtual’ Chef competition – the ‘Quality NZ Culinary Cup’ held in India. Chef Angad Singh Rana grabbed the QualityNZ Culinary Cup 2020 along with INR 50,000 worth of QualityNZ lamb and seafood and a Weber BBQ valued at over INR 46,000. Beside Chef Angad Singh Rana, there were category winners as well that included QualityNZ Culinary Cup Mutton /Lamb Challenge winner and winner was Chef Vaibhav Bhargava.
The ‘Virtual’ Chef competition – the ‘Quality NZ Culinary Cup’ launched in response to the Covid19 outbreak to help keep chefs motivated and connected during a challenging time, the competition had more than 120 entries of which were shortlisted as finals. The panel of judges included the heads of the Culinary Association, Chef Davinder Kumar, Chef Salil Fadnis, Chef Jugesh Arora and Stephen Fleming himself.
It may be noted that Stephen Fleming is the shareholder and ambassador of QualityNZ Imports, an Indian-based import company, along with two other well-known cricketers, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori. He believes that, in these extremely difficult times, everyone needs to support industries that are seriously affected by the Covid19 pandemic.
Chef Angad Singh Rana, speaking on this winning occasion, said, “I am humbled and excited; competition like the QualityNZ Culinary Cup motivates me to keep my head down, work harder, imagine better and hope for a brighter future.”
Stephen Fleming said, “We have been operating in India now for over 7 years and some of our customers and their own employees have been terribly affected by Covid19. With everyone being in lockdown, we wanted to think of a way to stay connected and give the community something positive to think about and be involved in. Who doesn’t enjoy cooking? Being in lockdown has allowed many people to have a go at cooking their own meals. I’ve been using a few of the Pure South lamb products and our Seafood to cook my own favourite recipes while being in lockdown here in NZ.”
The QualityNZ Culinary Cup 2020 is supported by the South India Chef’s Association, the Indian Culinary Forum and the Western India Culinary Association. Due to the limitations of Covid19, the competition was mainly held in NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai and limited to the first 60 online applications. The competition required the Chefs to prepare and cook two dishes from the QualityNZ range available here in India, in their own kitchens and to film the experience for others to learn and enjoy. Fleming was keen to point out that the aim of the exercise is to share the passion and skills of the Chefs with those of us who love to cook at home:
“The aim is to make the videos available through our social media channels to all the‘home’ Chefs across India who have an interest in cooking and new recipes and to show them some of the Chef’s secrets to producing some extra special meals!”
Dr Nitin Shankar Nagrale, QualityNZ CEO India
Dr Nitin Shankar Nagrale, QualityNZ CEO India and Emerging markets, said “The interest in the competition has been incredible. The places available in the competition were full within one day of the opening of entries and we were oversubscribed. It has been fantastic, we are thrilled that the Chefs have seized the opportunity to compete in the competition and be involved in something they are so passionate about!”
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram
