The Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Ranchi organized an interactive session with the industry leaders on the theme “Coffee with GMs” for the final year students of the institute. Coffee with GM is a unique initiative by IHM Ranchi where the industry experts and budding hoteliers come together on the same platform eliminating the hesitations and boundaries of interaction through heart. The event witnessed the presence of Hemant Mehta, General Manager, Hotel Radisson Blu – Ranchi; Amit Kaushik, General Manager - Hotel Royal Retreat; Asit Kundu, General Manager - Capital Residency; Kallol Sengupta, General Manager - Hotel Green Horizon; and Brajesh Gupta, General Manager, Hotel Le Lac Sarovar - Ranchi. The event was moderated by Dr. Bhupesh Kumar, Principal, IHM Ranchi and all the teachers were also present during this occasion.
The program was set-up through a casual interaction among the General Managers and the students focusing on the career development tips, success stories and fun-filled memories from their academic and professional journey. Decades of experience and the struggle and success stories of General Managers included focus on the personal development, self-confidence, self-presentation changing industry trends and best practices, hard work and dedication, effective management styles, conflict management, budgeting and financial management in the various roles during the long spanning career in the hospitality industry. The students were enthusiastic and energetic throughout the session and they asked various questions and queries related to personal and professional life and the secret behind their success and management styles to which all the General Managers were humble to address the gathering.
The program concluded with a hi-tea. All items of hi-tea were made by the students.
Better Kitchen has signed an agreement with Chandigarh College of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Landran – Mohali to start an incubation centre in the institute to promote budding entrepreneurship in young enterprising hospitality students and alumni of the institute.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Rajeev R. Mishra, Principal on behalf of Chandigarh College of Hotel Management & Catering Technology and Ekkta Bhargeva, Publisher on behalf of Better Kitchen.
Today’s generation having seen entrepreneurial success in the food and catering industry Better Kitchen will not only provide platform and right guidance through mentoring and other advisory services, but also generate substantial interest as well as build the next big idea (or ideas) thereby creating a whole self-sustaining eco system for the institute thereby creating entrepreneurs/ Restaurateurs and not employees.
After signing the agreement Ekkta Bhargeva said, students are very creative and some of their ideas are excellent. If proper guidance and mentoring is given to them their ideas will be unicorn in the coming days. Through this program Better Kitchen will provide knowledge to students to think like entrepreneurs and know how to present their ideas to the investors. We will analyze students’ ideas and take it to the next level to investors so that students can start working on their ideas while studying and by the time they will be passed out from the Institute they will have a running business and instead of looking for a job they will provide jobs to others.
Dr. Mishra said, while learning, students will get opportunities to understand the concept of entrepreneurship and start their businesses with the mentorship of highly experienced professionals in the industry. We are very excited to provide our students the environment through the incubation center to become entrepreneurs.
Deepali Biyani from Ahmednagar won the title of “Kitchen Star of India” in a national level cooking competition for housewives/homechefs organized by Better Kitchen with title sponsor Crompton.
The competition was conducted in three levels. Level One had the theme, “Regional/Traditional Thali” while in level two the participants had used mango as a hero ingredient in the recipe. On the basis of level one and level two, participants for the finale were selected across India and called to Mumbai to cook in the presence of a jury to bag the title of “Kitchen Star of India”.
The first and second runners-up of the competition were Deepa Girgune from Pune and Mufida Rehman from Assam respectively. The jury had decided to give two consolation prizes which went to Himadri Bharadwaj & Raziya Lohani Vayara.
The jury for finale comprised Sudhir Pai, Consultant Chef Anees Khan, Chef & Founder - Star Anise Fine Foods & Leisure Pvt. Ltd.; Vivek Kadam, Executive Pastry Chef – ITC Maratha, Mumbai; and Chef Kavita Singh from Kanpur.
The Jury appreciated the efforts of participants for their innovative thinking and use of mystery ingredients provided to them.
Ekkta Bhargeva, Publisher of Better Kitchen said the objective of this competition is to provide a platform for housewives/homechefs to showcase their talent, recognize and reward them for their culinary skills. Also to create awareness about the traditional recipes/food of India.
After winning the title Deepali said, “I am thankful to Ekkta Bhargeva & Better Kitchen team to provide us an excellent opportunity with well-organized arrangements to showcase culinary talent of homechefs with unbiased judging. We all were new to the training kitchen but through Better Kitchen event we have learnt a lot during the event and pre event workshops conducted by renowned chefs, who guided and mentored us.”
Commenting on the association Pragya Bijalwan, CMO - Crompton, said, “We are absolutely thrilled and proud to be associated with the Better Kitchen’s Kitchen Star of India cooking contest that celebrates the unique culinary talent of homemakers on such a reputed stage. By providing a bigger platform for talented home chefs, we have empowered them to showcase their culinary skills and unlock the secret of fine taste. This initiative aligns perfectly with our campaign's key message, as we believe that every great dish starts with passion, creativity, and a touch of something special. Through this contest, we aim to inspire food enthusiasts across India to embrace their love for cooking and explore the endless possibilities of flavors. Together, we are unlocking the secrets of fine taste, one recipe at a time."
The host partner was ITM Institute of Hotel Management, Oshiwara – Mumbai. Other partners were Uniform Partner - Zed Uniforms; Beverage Partner – Coca Cola; Gift hampers partners - Pansari Group and Culinary Fire.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to yet another enchanting issue of Better kitchens, the very first issue of 2023.
The issue is a bespoke chain where every loop with its intricate pattern is connected to the other creating the final product. The first motif focuses on the Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge, Season 4 Grand Finale held in mid February, 2023 at Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management. However, the feat wasn’t achieved overnight and it took unceasing determination and zeal to reach this apex.
It was after journeying in 14 cities that Better Kitchens finally went on to launch the magnanimous event in Mumbai where the winners of all 14 cities were invited for the finale along with a couple of wild card entries. The participants were encouraged to use millet in any one of the recipes that they planned to rustle up. Thereafter it was a complete treat to watch the participants’ flow of creativity into their preparations. The outcome was made even more conspicuous on account of 2023 being declared as the International Year Millets by United Nations at the behest of the Indian government to create awareness and increase production as well as the consumption of the grain.
The event comprised four intense levels of competition to evaluate the culinary and presentation skills of the respective participants wherein the jury consisted of the who’s who of the culinary industry.
The winner of the grand finale was awarded a scholarship of USD 5750—under Chef Scholarship’s Exchange Visitor Program (US J-1).
The edition also sheds light on how a stream of content was introduced to them in the course of four workshops in order to equip the finale participants with the astute knowledge of the sundry topics relevant to strategies and the principles of the upcoming industry besides gearing them up for an illustrious future in the industry, Food Business Entrepreneurship, Food Media and Styling, Molecular Mixology, The Bar School, and Interactions with HR Manager were some of the topics touched upon by the moguls of the industry.
Flip through the pages to read the initiative taken by Better Kitchen by signing an agreement with IHM-Lucknow to start an Incubation Centre. Other than that, the magazine covers the latest news on the hospitality trade besides an article on Mexican cuisines by Retd Secretary Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Gol that completely graces the leaves of the issue. Also, an article on Uttar Pradesh Awadhi cuisine is included to take the local gastronomy far and wide. Furthermore, Amul, Nandini & Milma controversy are a few other interesting reads that promise to keep you hooked on the issue.
We hope that you enjoy reading the issue to the hilt. Suggestions and ideas to spruce up the magazine are always welcome!
Happy reading.
Ekta Bhargava
Managing Editor
Better Kitchen has started a weekly recipe contest on WhatsApp Group - Gourmet Delight with Better Kitchen. The members are home chefs and professional chefs. The recipes contest is open only for the group home chef members. The winning and chefs choice recipes are featured in Better Kitchen website. Five times Winner will get a chance to meet celebrity chef and interact with him/her about the recipe.
The celebrity chef will modify the recipe and give a new twist in the recipe. The modified recipe will also be featured in the Better Kitchen website as well as magazine.
Interested in joining the group? Send an email with your name, email ID, mobile number and city to events@betterkitchen.in
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Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge (BKCC) is India’s largest and most trilling culinary challenge for final year of hospitality students. BKCC is a culinary challenge with a distinctive difference. It not only offers a unique platform for budding chefs to exhibit their talent, and an ideal springboard to launch their future but also provides a great opportunity to showcase brands to target the exclusive audience across India.
Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge Season 4 has begun its exciting competition journey from Bhopal and has completed the journey so far in 9 cities. We will be visiting 6 more cities before the national finale on 17-18 February, 2023 at Mumbai.
Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge Season 4 is supported by Incredible India – Ministry of Tourism, GoI; Worldchefs; Indian Culinary Forum; Western Chefs Association (WICA); Gujarat Culinary Association; Culinary Forum of Goa; Chefs Association of Five Rivers; Chef Association of Garhwal and Hospitality Purchasing Managers’ Forum.