Soumyadeep Das
Celebrating ‘International Women’s Day’ today women in the city got an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills with 37 women preparing various scrumptious delicacies.
Nandini Magazine, a renowned publication of the Sadin-Pratidin Group organised the “largest cooking competition of 2022” at Imperial Estate in Guwahati.
International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year to celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. The theme for this year is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”.
The message that working women can also be good homemakers was clearly conveyed through the competition in which many of the contestants held jobs apart from being homemakers.
The organisers highlighted the fact that women are no longer confined to the four walls and cooking should rather be viewed as a hobby or a passion.
The delicacies on offer included fish in mustard, traditional Assamese food, boiled chicken with papaya, roasted fish, pork dishes, biryani, traditional Karbi food and much more, which everyone enjoyed to their heart’s content.
The participants prepared the food at their home and presented it in front of the two judges, celebrity chef Atul Lahkar and Jyuti Das at the competition.
“We had a tough time judging the competition as each of the dishes was exemplary,” said Atul Lahkar.
Having tasted all the dishes, the judges declared the three best, who won attractive prizes. Apart from the first, second, and third prizes, three special prizes were also handed out, while all participants received hampers.
Minakshi Gayan bagged the first prize which included a television set while Sayeda Samina Afrin Ishika won the second prize that included a washing machine. Kaberi Gogoi Deka won the third prize which had a microwave oven. All of them were given certificates of appreciation.
Mrs. Gayan said, “My husband has always been very supportive. I was not prepared to participate in this competition but he pushed me and now I have won it.”
Present as chief guests at the competition was popular actor Ravi Sharma, Chetana Das and renowned writer and editor of the women-centric magazine Nandini, Maini Mahanta.