EVENTTop Chef competition – A Major Culinary Delight
Sui Southern Gas Company Women Association (SSGCWA) in collaboration with HUM MASALA TV organized a mega culinary event on 13 September 2013 to discover “SSGC’s top chef”. Dr. Shehla Naqvi, President and Ms. Asma Butt, Vice President, SSGCWA in particular were the brains behind this innovative approach.
The aim of this competition was to provide a platform for SSGC’s executives and staff to showcase their hidden talent in cookery and its presentation. Chef Zakir Qureshi and Chef Zarnak Sidhwa, renowned MASALA TV chefs were the esteemed judges who also gave their valuable advice and tips to the contestants and the audience.
The MC (Master of Ceremony) was Muhammad Ali Gohar of CCD Department, who did a wonderful job in hosting the event. He made a surprise entry after which the participants proceeded to “Top Chef Exclusive Pantry”. The participants included Shafia Akhter, Dr. Sheeba Ansari, Shahida Noman, Shamaila Baig, Sabeen Absar, Syed Imran Ahmed, Fayyaz Ali Zaidi, Sanaullah Muhammad Hasni, Zubair Ahmed Fazlani and Dr. Afia Qazi. An hour’s time was allocated to each participant to cook the finest dishes they could offer. The judges evaluated each one of them in terms of quality of food, time management, technique and effort in presentation. The judges also asked them questions about their choice of dishes and shared their expert advice. During the cooking sessions, the packed to capacity audience enjoyed dance performances on various songs, comical skits by Rozina Ejaz of Transmission and Rashid Ahmed of IT Departments. Mohsin Raza of Security and Mohammad Rashid of IT department also entertained the audience with their melodious voices. The interactive competitions among the audience such as maximum banana eating, potato pealing, maximum edibles names and Quiz also entertained the audience. The competition was followed by exquisite cuisine, music, quiz, prizes, lucky draws, performances, comedy skits and Q&A session.
Once the cooking time concluded, all participants brought their dishes in the dining room where the table was decorated impressively with floating candles. Chefs Zakir and Zarnak questioned and examined the contestants and marked them very critically. Shumaila Baig of Materials and Inventory Management Department claimed the “SSGC top chef” title. She was rewarded with a return ticket to Dubai along with the winning trophy and a chance to come LIVE on Masala TV. Dr. Afia Qazi of HSE Department stood 2nd; she was awarded a microwave and a runner up trophy. Ms. Sabeen Absar of Security Department stood third and was awarded a Sandwich Maker along with the second runner-up award. Besides this competition, there was a “Healthy Cuisine Competition” among the SSGCWA members based on calories count, flavor, presentation and hygiene, in which Chef Zakir announced Dr. Qurat-ul-Ain stood 1st, Ms, Farhana Nasir 2nd and Summera Shaheen 3rd. It was a wonderful show and the SSGCWA Organizing Committee has put in tremendous hardwork to make this show a benchmark of successful events at SSGC.