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To tickle your palates
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M. BALAGANESSIN digs into lip-smacking delicacies at the city's annual food event by students.
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THIS IS an annual event aimed at bringing out the talents of students and introducing Tiruchiites to multiple cuisines. This year `Relish 2005' was a two-day affair organised by Sree Balaji College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology.
As always, the event provided the students a rare opportunity to exhibit their expertise in preparing a wide range of mouth-watering dishes of regional, national and international flavour.
The venue — sprawling grounds at Makkal Mandram — was a scene of brisk activity since morning. The aroma emanating from the ovens all around tickled the visitors' palate even as scores of students focussed themselves on preparing over 100 dishes divided over seven different stalls. Each stall catered to a specific taste and the hoarding on top gave details. This was a sure winning strategy what with names like `Shanghai Knights', the `Conti Corner', the `Punjabi Pot' and the `Bakers' Mania' attracting visitors by the droves.
Double bonanza
It was a double bonanza for the visitors, as they not only got a taste of variety dishes but also caught a glimpse of its preparation.
The effort each year is to ensure the introduction of a few innovative dishes, which are invariably up for grabs even by the hoteliers. Students at the `Conti Corner' attracted a sizeable number of gourmet lovers as they busily prepared Mexican and Italian dishes with tomato as the main ingredient and used maize, thyme and rosemary as herbs. Olive oil was the important ingredient in the Italian dishes.
The `Shanghai Knights' stall and the `Bar-b-que' too were hits this year. The `oriental special' dish particularly scored high. It was made preparing pre-cooked rice and noodle, and, after hot seasoning using salt, pepper, ajinomoto, the ingredients were tossed with soyabeans.
The dish is dear to natives of Singapore and Hong Kong. The `Bar-b-que' with its chicken and mutton items turned out to be the most sought after by French tourists. The students prepared them in three different ways - the red-based using curd, lime and chilli paste, the green-based with mint, corriander and green chillies and the yellow-based with the same recipe but with a dash of cashews. The items were as tasty as they looked and sounded. At the bakery stall, half-a-dozen varieties of special cakes and cookies were up for sales. There were bread rolls too. "Melting moments, Almanda biscuits and peanut biscuits are some of the new varieties," said S. Karthik, one of the students.
"The annual festival has been achieving several goals. It gives confidence to the students. There is a vast difference between preparing a dish as part of academic curricula on the campus and at a public place like Makkal Mandram. In the former, students need not hasten," said the Principal, Gopal Rayar.
Promising career
Many leading hoteliers who visit the show not only observe the dish preparation but also silently assess the ability of the students. "The college helps in placing the students in leading tourism-attraction restaurants," shared T. N. Balajee Sivaraj, founder chairman, Sree Narayanagiri Educational Trust, Srirangam.
At the end of it all, students expressed a new found confidence of taking up a promising career. K. Karthikeyan from Mannarkudi, M. P. Muthuvel from Thanjavur and A. Aravind Kumar said the festival provided them an opportunity to exhibit their talents. Many students have planned to venture into assignments abroad, particularly in London.
The college offers courses in foreign languages, including French and German, too.
The festival is not confined to the students of this college alone. Competition on ice-carving, vegetable carving and butter carving were held in which students from 17 Hotel management colleges all over the State participated.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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