The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Dishing out the right mix of flavour, colour

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Monday, Jan 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Dishing out the right mix of flavour, colour

Krishna Velupillai

Cooking without fire and painting for awareness are topics at IOC-sponsored contests

Taste, presentation, calorie count will be evaluated
Fun quiz to test participants’ knowledge held

— PHOTO: K. Pichumani

Food without fire: A participant at the ‘Cooking without fire’ competition organised by the Indian Oil Corporation in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: Excited participants rushed around trying to get everything in place for their dish to taste and look just right.

Inside the building, around 200 children hunched over their painting determined to get their picture just right — scenes at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)-sponsored competitions for ‘The Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight’ held here on Sunday.

Cooking without fire and painting to create awareness were the organised this year as part of IOC’s drive to spread awareness of saving fuel.

While the kids summoned their creative prowess to draw pictures, the energy efficient chefs seemed to do the same experimenting with various ingredients to create mouth-watering dishes without actually cooking them.

With just a walk around the food displayed, it was easy to notice that the dishes seemed healthy and fresh. From salads and drinks to dry fruit sweets and interesting chutneys, the participants seemed to go to town with flavours and colours

One of those assigned the tough task of judging the contest, Rabindra Tilak G., Principal, Asan Memorial Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, said they would look into taste and presentation as well as calorie count and affordability of the dish.

“All the dishes have been created just by mixing, no cooking. But then again, mixing is also a form of cooking,” he said, going through the dishes prepared by about 150 participants.

Regional- level coordinator and general manager IOC, M. Nageswaran, said oil conservation was all about “energy efficiency not about total avoidance.” Stressing on how energy efficiency could also help individuals in the long run, Mr. Nageswaran said: “It is purely economical. A household can save four cylinders per annum and 50 litres of petrol if they are more careful and smart in their energy consumption.”

Healthy participation

The organisers had also included a fun quiz, to test the participants’ general knowledge as well as dietary knowledge. The healthy participation seemed to suggest that everyone was enjoying themselves. Rathi Nilakantan of the Duchess Club, the event managers said: “The response was great, it seems like all those here thought it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.”

R. Renuka, a college student, eagerly awaited the results on where her choco-dates milkshake stood in relation to the other dishes. A nutrition and dietary studies student, Renuka said while the event was actually part of her studies, she really enjoyed the experience.

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