Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah bags culinary trophy

Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort in Fujairah won the Championship Trophy at the inaugural East Coast Culinary Competition, which was held at the hotel on Sunday 9.

More than 100 chefs took part in the competition, which saw them competing across 11 categories, including Fish and Seafood, Chocolate Carving and Bread Loaves Showpiece.

The event, organised by the hotel’s executive chef K.A.C. Prasad, was supported by the Emirates Culinary Guild, and 62 of its medals were awarded across the categories, including 14 golds.

Two golds with distinction were also achieved, both by Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa’s Janaka Priyanga Shabandul, but Miramar came out on top overall, with 35 medals, including seven gold.

K.A.C. Prasad, who is vice president of the East Coast for Emirates Culinary Guild, said: “When I came to this area, I found it abandoned. People worked individually, with nothing rich happening, so as soon as we opened the hotel in 2007, I decided to make sure we brought this area into another level.”

“It feels absolutely great – I can’t express my words,” said the winner of the Best Gastronomy title, Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa’s Karthik Sundar said. He moved to the area from Ramada Dubai three months ago, and added that he has prepared for a month – working 18 hours a day.

“Without doing every day, you can’t get it perfect... Doing static displays, you need a cold and calm place, so have been practising for four to five hours every night after 12 hours working. But it was definitely worth it,” Sundar added.
The food categories were deliberated over by four judges, while the cocktail classes had two speciality judges.

“We weren’t expecting this amount of winners – the people are so talented, especially in the classes like lamb, Arabic and seafood – they have reached outstanding levels of success,” said judge Amro Fahed Al Yassin, executive sous chef at Time Grand Plaza Hotel in Dubai.

“And we have to keep in mind that the chefs who have cooked this food, a lot of the time, it is the first time they have competed,” he added.

Click through to see the five individual winners...

From the 11 categories, five individual awards were then given:

Best Bartender: Kathrina Siringan, Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort
Best Kitchen Artist: Janaka Priyanaga Shabandu, Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa
Best Arabic Chef: Saad Sami El Gamry, Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort
Best Pastry Chef: Samintha Guruge, Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort
Best Gastronomy: Karthik Sundar, Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa