Our Correspondent
Kisama, Dec. 3 (EMN): Three competitors in the seventh edition of the cooking competition Naga Chef are in the title chase. They are A Chungmei Phom, Hechuba Chang and Peteneilhu Kulimbe. The Naga Chef is being conducted as part of the Hornbill Festival at Kisama in Kohima.
The annual event is organised by Synergy Group Enterprise and supported by the department of Tourism, with the chief minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio as the Naga Chef’s chief patron.
The winner of the Naga Chef will walk away with a cash prize of INR three lakh, while the finalists will receive gifts and benefits to pursue their culinary dreams.
Naga Chef is a pioneering culinary competition in Nagaland. It aims to promote Naga indigenous cuisine and to provide a platform to Naga cooks who have the passion to showcase authentic Naga recipes to the world.
Six Naga cooks were selected from the screening round this year. After several gruelling rounds that tested their culinary skills, only three cooks remain to compete in the Naga Chef’s entrepreneurial round.
Alemjungla Jamir, one of the three judges, told Eastern Mirror that in the entrepreneurial or the final round, the competitors will be allowed to cook whatever Naga dish they want.
The criteria of awarding points are authenticity, taste and presentation of the food, knowledge of the indigenous ingredients, team work, and customer service of the contestants etc.
Here are what the three finalists have to say. The information given here is extracted from their profiles.
A Chungmei Phom: Cooking has been his hobby since graduation. Cooking has influenced him to express through it. Besides cooking, Phom says he loves adventurous experiences.
Hechuba Chang: He loves cooking not just because he knows how to cook. According to Chang, cooking is an art and every time he cooks, he gets more creative in trying out new recipes. He describes himself as an ambitious person who sets goals for himself. Chang loves socializing with new people. To him, sharing love and happiness with food is his biggest joy.
Peteneilhu Kulimbe: Kulimbe has always been interested in cooking since childhood and wanted to pursue it. But due to lack of career guidance, he could not follow it. He says to have worked at Hotel De Oriental Grand, in Kohima town, for four years as a kitchen store supervisor, and as a kitchen steward. During his work there, he cooked Naga dishes for hotel guests.
