Rupchanda-The Daily Star Super Chef comes to an end
On the 20th of May, Rupchanda-The Daily Star Super Chef finally found its winner. Ayesha Siddiqui Pinky, the 28-year old student registering from Dhaka North, won the top prize after a tightly-fought finale against runners-up Shampa Rahman, a 32-year old housewife, one of the audition round winners from Dinajpur. The Grand Finale of Rupchanda-The Daily Star Super Chef was held at the city's Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC). The show's judges Nazma Huda, Chef Daniel Gomes, Tarik Anam and guest judge and noted TV personality, Mim, presided over the proceedings.
After winning the prize, Ayesha was overcome with emotions. Her mother was also present and went to hug her daughter and celebrate one of the biggest moments of her daughter's life. She said she was extremely proud. Ayesha also informed that it was her mother who had encouraged her the most in pursuing the culinary arts. “Now that I have won, it is even more evidence that I should really do all I can possible in this particular field,” Ayesha said.
Shampa Rahman, the first runner's-up expressed her disappointment whilst congratulating her opponent. “I feel very sad that I could not be the Super Chef. But it was wonderful coming and participating here in this competition,” she said. Before the grand finale, the competition pitted the remaining top three against each other. In that round, while Shampa and Ayesha qualified to go to final, Maymuna Akter fell short. She thus became the second runners-up.
For the Grand Finale, Shampa and Ayesha were given a choice of two boxes, Set A and Set B. Using the ingredients in the boxes, they would have to prepare a four course meal. The four course meal would comprise of an appetiser, a side dish, a main dish and dessert. Set A consisted of two main ingredients, shrimp and duck. Set B was a total surprise. If a participant did like Set A, they could choose Set B. But once you declined to take Set A, you could not change your mind. The participants chose not to take the risk and settle for Set A. Set B's main elements were a fish and chicken.
Once the ingredients were selected, the participants were given time to present their dishes, one by one, offering the first part of each course. The participants were given 40 minutes for appetiser, 35 minutes for the shrimp, 50 minutes for the main course and 40 minute for the dessert. They individually presented each dish and the judges voted per dish. The count began to favour Pinky first but then the balance tipped towards Shampa. Until the last dish had been appraised and the last vote counted, no one could know for sure who would win. This was not a walk over and on the contrary was fiercely fought. In the end it came down to a mere difference of two votes with 9 votes for Pinky and 7 for Shampa.
This then decided that Ayesha would be the Rupchanda-The Daily Star Super Chef 2017. When asked what it is that made her go all the way, Ayesha had a very simple answer and suggestion for aspiring chefs. “Focus,” she said, without any hesitation. It was what got her the crown and it was the one quality she valued the most. “When I was in the top 20, I knew there was no looking back. I had to do remain focused. You must immerse yourself in the competition and not worry about what is going on around you or what people are saying,” she said. She also informed that pre-planning was a waste. It just augmented the levels of worry. “Pre-planning won't help you much. In the kitchen, you have to think and work instantly. You have to trust your first instinct,” she added.
Ayesha Siddiqui's victory meant she received the Super Chef crest along with the prize money of Tk 10 lac. Shampa Rahman, the first runners up, received a crest and the prize money of Tk 5 lac whilst Maymuna Akter, who was eliminated in the last round, received a crest and prize money to Tk 3 lac. “We executed four consecutive seasons and for that I am very happy. Sustaining a show in the long run was our objective and every year we see a major difference,” Faisal Mahmud, Marketing Manager of Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited said. “Participants now approach the show differently and more professionally. The improvement is remarkable. Plus, this year we brought in a huge number of diverse professionals from the chef of Manhattan Fish Market to a caterer, increasing the show's diversity,” he said.
Rupchanda-The Daily Star Super Chef is considered to one of Bangladesh's biggest culinary competition. This year around the fourth edition of the competition spanned all over the country, holding 17 regional rounds. Over 2000 participants took part in the competition with a choice few making the cut for the competition proper after the culmination of the audition's rounds. Those that made the cut were put through grueling tests that were designed to push their culinary knowledge and their endurance to the limit. Participants constantly found themselves in various pressure-cooker situations, with mistakes proving costly enough to merit elimination.
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