Kolkata-based Simran Kapur (17) was conferred the Young Chef India Schools Award 2013 following a major cookout competition staged at the University of West London last September. This class XII student of Modern High School won the Young Chef Finale, a competition for students in class XII, organised by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) in association with the London-based magazine Tandoori, to showcase the culinary skills of school children.

Over 4,000 students participated in the Young Chef competitions in Calcutta, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi and Bangalore from January-May 2013. In June, 120 young chefs took part in the regional semi-finals. Finally Simran and five other students were invited to a cook off in London.

The exotic fare dished out at the Young Chef Finale was adjudged by Atul Kochhar, the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star; Cyrus Todiwala, chef and TV presenter; Andy Varma, proprietor of London’s Chakra Restaurant; Tandoori columnist and celebrated chef, Shaun Kenworthy, and Sanjay Kak, director of the Bangalore-based IIHM (estb. 1994). “I was about to make a soup and then I realised I didn’t have enough time so I turned it into a prawn amuse-bouche,” says Simran of the unique concoction which according to Kak, helped her win the Rs.5 lakh jackpot, which she plans to save for her higher education.

“I have always been a great foodie and experimenting with the family dinner is my favourite pass time,” enthuses the young chef.

Also a trained Hindustani classical vocalist, currently Simran is busy with her class XII board exams. And of course, she plans to join the hotel industry to keep delighting gourmets from around the world with her out-of-the-box culinary innovations.

Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)