My son and my husband will be watching the shows live, maybe will be dancing there too, don’t know, they must have started jumping on the sofa. Actually I am very emotional, that my husband and son are not with me, if they were here, it would have been great.’
These were the exact words of Arti Limje- the winner of Golden Eye Chef 2019.
“They (family members) said,’don’t get upset if you don’t win the trophy, you are already winner for us.”- said Forum Lodaya, the winner of Golden Eye Chef 2019, in the second category.
You might think of this as just another acceptance speech of a cooking competition maybe?
But before you skip reading ahead just read what a volunteer in the competition had to say-, ‘While they are working in the kitchen no one says that they are blind.’
Yes! Not just an ordinary competition but a one of its kind competition in which blind as well as partially blind individuals showcase their exemplary culinary skills.
Stories of struggle and success-
The founder of the competition Mr Akhil Srivastava faced many naysayers when he was establishing the competition with the aim to empower the visually impaired, to provide them with a platform to show their amazing skills and to remove any kind of myth regarding visually impaired people cooking.
But, he decided not to give up! Just like these adroit participants of the contest, who despite being visually impaired, persevered and learned how to cook. They had their share of struggle but with their dedication and practice they mastered the art of cooking to the extent that left everyone who witnessed them cooking were in awe. Chef Gautam Mehrishi, a member of the distinguished jury of Golden Eye Chef, Grand Finale 2019, even remarked that when talking to the contestants about their dishes and cooking style he felt like he was ‘talking with professional chefs’.
Past Competitions-
With three successful Contests organized in the past three years, the ‘Golden Eye Chef’ Contest is back with a bang. Year 2019 was conducted offline, but due to the pandemic, things got rolling in online mode for the contest in 2020 and 2021.
From themes to time limit to special ingredient specification- each year different twists were incorporated in the contest.
New Year, New Pattern-
With the promise to recreate a stage that serves as an inspiration for everyone as well as empowers the visually impaired, a contest for the year 2022 is set to come soon.
A major achievement this year will be that it will be the first year that the Contest will be internationally organized. Earlier it was only a pan Indian affair but talent is something that surpasses borders. So this year participants all over the world will battle it out to win the ‘Golden Eye Chef’ Award.
Another unique part? Global participants and global audience! Anyone can see the participants create the delectable dishes, given the competition is going to be held online this year.
Inspirational Journeys-
Cooking requires many complex activities- frying, handling hot objects, adding spices in the correct quantities to get the perfect flavor and so much more, which even individuals with the blessing of perfect vision fail to carry out properly. These individuals have fought with this disability with patience and practice. Some might have got some social support but for others the journey was harder.
For the participants, their past selves who were not-so-adept at cooking feel proud every time they pick the utensil to cook, every time they add the spices or every time they determine the right time to put in the next ingredient. For those who see them cook, their every move is inspiring.
The unique concept, inspirational participants and success of the past editions has made the competition a highly anticipated event.