Preliminary round of ‘Our State Our Taste’ draws enthusiastic participants

Enthusiastic participants showcased their culinary skills in the preliminary round of 'Our State Our Taste' cooking competition in Chennai. Mythili won with Seeragasamba mutton biryani and kambu kali. Sarala Kumari, A. Thanseera, Maruthu Pandian and V. Vanitha were runners-up. Final showdown on Dec 16, prizes of ₹1 lakh, ₹60,000 and ₹40,000. Gold Winner, Butterfly, RKG, Aashirvaad, Elite Foods, Bambino, Parry's, Coir-On, Gsquare, SRM IHM, DBS Bank India, Thillai's and Chef Damu are partners.

The preliminary round of The Hindu’s ‘Our State Our Taste’ cooking competition held in Chennai on Saturday saw an enthusiastic turnout of participants who showcased their culinary skills.

The event is presented by Gold Winner.

The participants were tasked with preparing a traditional Tamil Nadu dish or creatively re-interpret a classic recipe. Mythili, a participant, emerged as the winner of the preliminary round after preparing dishes such as Seeragasamba mutton biryani and kambu kali.

Sarala Kumari secured the first runner-up position for dishes such as namma veetu virundhu, chicken 65, biryani and chicken pickle. A. Thanseera, who prepared mutton kola katti urandai and 12 other dishes, was adjudged the second runner-up. Maruthu Pandian secured the second runner-up I spot for ‘rasamalai parotta seevai twist’ and 13 dishes, while V. Vanitha bagged the second runner-up II spot for karup kavuni kanji, ravaladdu,mysuru pak and eight other dishes.

Celebrity chef Damu, along with Shafiqur Rahman A. from The Hindu Group, Ravi from Ravi agencies (distributor of Gold Winner), Vikneswaran, managing partner of RKG Ghee, Radhika, head of marketing, Elite Foods, and Shantha Lakshmi, Thillai’s Masala team were present at the event.

The final showdown will take place in Chennai on December 16.

Chef Damu will judge the dishes prepared by the competitors and declare the winners. The grand prize for the contest is ₹1 lakh, while the second and third place winners will receive ₹60,000 and ₹40,000 respectively.