A 10-year-old Hasvika Sridharan from Bengaluru has won the Young Chef India Junior 2019 title. In the age when girls and boys love to dance, sing and play football and tennis, Hasvika loves spending time in the kitchen and cooking is her passion. And it is her interest in cooking that motivated this young girl to participate in the International Institute of Hotel Management’s national-level cooking competition.
Exciting Journey Of Hasvika Sridharan
Hasvika is a student of Harvest International School and participated in the competition because of her interest in cooking. But she eventually went on to win the national-level competition much to the surprise of Hasvika herself and her family.
While watching her mega finale episode airing on the Food Food channel, Sridharan became highly excited and relived the actual moment when the judges announced her name as the winner. Hasvika says, “It was an unforgettable moment. I joined this contest after watching MasterChef on TV. We never expected that we would come to this level.”
It was an exciting journey for Sridharan but it was tough as well as she had to pass through multiple rounds including pre-recipe and non-fire rounds. The young cook says, “I was sick on the first day of my contest. I told my mom that I want to participate in the contest, though I was not well. So, she taught me a simple recipe: Pasta cheese balls.”
The judges liked that dish very much and this is how she was chosen in the top 20 participants from South zone.
Never Give Up Spirit Made Hasvika A Winner
In the finale of South Zone, she made soya balls with spaghetti in the trifle and red sauce. While remembering that day Hasvika says, “Many times before that round, I failed to make perfect trifle. But I never wanted to give up.” She had to face several challenges during the mega finals in New Delhi.
The youngster says, “I had to make cupcakes, which have eggs and I am a vegetarian. So I asked my aid at the contest to break the egg. I beat it and did the other procedures.” The judge for the finale was Chef Shaun Kenworthy, indismart group’s culinary director and executive sous chef Leela Palace Hotels and Resorts, Abhishek Gupta.
The junior chef competition winner said, “I was excited when Chef Sanjeev Kapoor wished us luck. I like Chef Shaun also I have so many photos of him.” The final dish that won her the title included paneer and palak balls on rice inspired by a recipe of Sanjeev Kapoor.
Hasvika Sridharan gives credit of her win to her parents. She says, “When mom helps me in cooking food, papa is the one who tastes my food.”
