Australia vs India cricket matches have always made the masses jump off their seats, hot-headed and excited. But this time it was the Australia vs India cook-off on September 9, curated by Gormei Kolkata at the Charmoso Kitchen Studio, hosted by Tina Mukherjee, where Australian masterchef Michael Weldon was hosted in the city by the Australian consulate general of Kolkata, to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence and our relationship with Australia.
It was a warm and friendly cook-off challenge between Chef Weldon and Indian chef Rachit Kirteeman. The chefs explored different tastes, flavours and ingredients that were out of their comfort zone. Chef Weldon explored the Kolkata spice market and street food and brought out different flavours on his plate using local Bengali ingredients like paanch phoron and chalta (elephant apple) — generally used to make Bengali chutney — with an Aussie twist, whereas, Chef Rachit brought tribal Indian flavours using Australian spices and ingredients like the famous Vegemite in his dishes. The judges’ panel included Chef Shaun Kenworthy, Ushoshi Sengupta and designer Navonil Das. Australian consul general Rowan Ainsworth felt “homesick” by looking at Chef Rachit use Vegemite in his dish. The Telegraph gets you the action.
“It was fantastic spending time and cooking with Michael. I’ve seen him in MasterChef Australia Season 2. He’s a pretty fun guy to be around. One thing I really liked about him was that there was no competition as such, it was just a fun cook-off and we both had a great time. And I think that’s what matters, to have fun around food,” said Chef Kirteeman.
The judges enjoying the dishes presented by the chefs. “It’s always great to see new chefs in the city. And it was great to judge the chefs, something I’ve spent a lot of my life doing. It was a great banter between the two chefs. I don’t think anybody was too concerned about who won, it was just great fun,’’ said Chef Shaun Kenworthy (left, in picture).
“It was super super exciting to try something like this for the first time. I obviously come from a hospitality background but I never really had an opportunity to sit and judge a cook-out and that, too, between the two amazing chefs. I think it was a tough fight, and I was the one who gave points in 0.5 and 0.2 marks. I really wanted to be fair in my first cook-off judging. I think both the chefs were fantastic. I loved the fact that Chef Michael used Bengali ingredients to make what he made and, of course, Chef Rachit brought the taste of tribal India on the plate. It was great to be a part of this cook-off,” said Ushoshi Sengupta.
“I’m one of the big foodies in town. So for me it was the best way to spend an afternoon around talented chefs and finding the subtlety and the play-off of different food and flavours. I’m an Australian fan, I used to live there, was a student there. So it was a great experience to be familiar with the Australian ingredients again. I had a great time,” said Navonil Das.
Chef Michael Weldon whips up his magic. “I’m loving Kolkata. I had an amazing tour of the market and spent time learning a lot about the spices and ingredients of Kolkata. The food is beautiful, the City of Joy is beautiful. I’m feeling very lucky to be here with the Australian government and talking about our relationship with India. I’m really proud as an Australian, out to travel and talking about my food and learn about Indian and Bengali food especially. I’m really excited and can’t wait to go home and cook more Bengali food and talk about it with everyone. Thank you to the people of Kolkata for letting me enjoy the joy of Kolkata, it’s been a beautiful experience,” said Chef Weldon.
(L-R) Chef Weldon, sous chef Katherine Chung, Australian consul general Rowan Ainsworth, sous chef Rufina Anthony and Chef Rachit Kirteeman.
On The Menu
Appetizer made by Chef Weldon: Red Snapper Ceviche with coconut cream, cucumber puree and chillies.
Appetizer made by Chef Rachit: Badi Chura and Fried Leaves. He used Odia badi chura with chillies, garlic and mustard, assorted leaves fried with salt bush batter and served with Australian bush tomato dip.
Main made by Chef Rachit: Tribal Odia dish Macha Patrapoda with mustard, plum and lemon myrtle. Chef Rachit used Aussie ingredients like wattle seeds, ginger, lemon myrtle and mustard on Kolkata bekti roasted in sal leaf packets and served with pepper, plum and Vegemite sauce.
Main course made by Chef Weldon: Bekti steamed in banana leaves with mustard, served with chalta (elephant apple) and tomato chutney. The judges were bowled over by this dish and the Aussie chef won the cook-off by 150.5 points.
Pictures: B. Halder