It was a moment of joy and happiness for Delhi-based Haim Levy when he was declared the winner of Hyatt Culinary Challenge 2014 by a panel of judges that included actress, filmmaker and passionate foodie Pooja Bhatt.
The contest, held at Oval Room at The Mansion, Hyatt Regency hotel here, saw 10 talented chefs from various cities compete in the grand finale.
Levy was declared the winner after his Mediterranean style fish impressed the judges.
Pooja, who judged the finale contestants' delicacies along with food aficionado Sourish Bhattacharya and Brain Cleere, culinary development of Hyatt - South Asia, was seen tasting the food with complete focus. She appreciated everyone's effort to experiment.
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"I am a foodie myself, so an event like this is a celebration for me. I have enjoyed judging these young boys and girls who truly impressed me with their creative side," the actress-filmmaker told IANS after the event, which was held here Saturday night.
The Hyatt Culinary Challenge 2014 - People Cooking for People was launched last month across select locations in India where Hyatt hotels are present.
The preliminary rounds of the inaugural 2014 season were started off in cities like Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Raipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. It received a warm response from senior representatives from the corporate world who came together together with enthusiastic young partners from the NGO Smile Foundation to create culinary masterpieces.
The winners from each of these nine cities participated in the grand finale.
Harleen Mehta, vice president (Sales Operations), Hyatt South Asia, said there are plans to make the event an annual affair.
"The objective behind running the Hyatt Culinary Challenge was to give a wider audience across India the opportunity to engage with Hyatt as a brand by participating in 'people cooking for people'," she said.
"The overwhelming response that we have witnessed across the cities has been truly encouraging and we hope to make the Hyatt Culinary Challenge an annual event," she added.