Add a burst of flavour to meals this Ramadan with the help of master celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The Indian kitchen master has just launched his Sadia UAE Ramadan Cookery Challenge 2012, which will pitch 32 teams of two against each other in a month-long competition. Set to air on e-Vision’s emasala, emasala+2 as well as Sanjeev Kapoor’s FoodFood channel, the competition-style show, filmed here in the UAE, is already causing quite a stir.
A globally-recognised face, Kapoor is one of India’s most celebrated faces of cuisine boasting a range of cookbooks, ready-to-cook meals, DVDs and television shows. His global restaurant chains — three in the UAE — are renowned, he has picked up countless awards and was recently recruited by Singapore Airlines as a member of its International Culinary Panel along with the UK’s Gordon Ramsay and Australia’s Matthew James Moran.
Filmed entirely at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, the show will be screened over 31 episodes, the opener on the first day of Ramadan and the grand finale on the first day of Eid Al Fitr.
“The show was the idea of producer Ron Kapadia and his team,” said Kapoor. “The idea was to combine a contest and to empower viewers with varied cooking styles which they can try out and eventually call their own. It’s a contest which will not only test skills of the contestants but the viewers will also be treated to some great dishes.”
Shot entirely in English it tracks the progress the teams in a culinary fight to the finish.
All walks of life
“Contestants were picked by a panel of food experts and are from all walks of life. They are essentially home cooks,” explained Kapoor.
Each episode will focus on two of the teams who will cook a Ramadan dish for Kapoor and an expert team of chefs from across the UAE, including those from the Meydan Hotel. Dishes will be rated and the team with the lowest score eliminated until just two teams remain and go head-to-head in the grand final show down.
“Dubai has always had a special place in my heart with my first restaurant, Khazana, opened here,” added Kapoor. “Now we have three restaurants in Dubai and after launching Food Food in India last year, the channel was launched successfully in Dubai, the first place outside of India we took it to.”
The show is presented and co-judged by Saba Wahid. Kapoor said he has high hopes for the show.
“It targets the multicultural population of the UAE, with an array of Ramadan food. Food brings people together and our belief is that this show will do just that,” he said.
