The WACS Train-the-Trainer program, sponsored by Custom Culinary ™, landed another success when Chef S.T. Vinodkumar, Principal of the Indus Institute of Advanced Culinary Art and Hotel Management in Bangalore, India arrived in Lisbon , the capital city of Portugal on 21st March 2008. For Chef Vinodkumar and dozens of Portuguese cooks, students, teachers and chefs it set the stage for three exciting weeks of education, sharing and good hospitality. At the Lisbon airport Chef Vinodkumar was welcomed to Portugal by Chef Fausto Airoldi, President Associação dos Cozinheiros Profissionais de Portugal.

Chef Vinodkumar in Portugal teaching and sharing his passion for food

This particular visit promised to be full of lessons on both food and culture, for an Indian chef was going to Portugal, the country which has occupied parts of India’s coastline since explorer Vasco de Gama first landed there in 1498. For over 500 years Portuguese flavors, ingredients and cooking styles influenced Indian coastline cuisine, and now that cuisine was making its way to Portugal through the gifted talents of Chef Vinodkumar, a chef, scholar and world class Indian cuisine authority. How interesting it was going to be for the Portuguese chefs and students to see and taste modern Indian coastal cuisine, and the Indian flavors and spices which make it a first class world cuisine of today?

Chef Vinodkumar’s first series of lessons lasted from 24th – 28th March 2008 when 15-16 participants of working young cooks, instructors, and general public were among the audience. The program began with a Power Point presentation on India, Indian cuisine and Indian spices. The introduction on Indian spices, lentils, herbs and the spice blend ratios for making masalas like garam masala, sambhar masala, chat masala, tandoori masala , preparation of basic gravies and various pastes usually used in the Indian kitchen lay the foundation for the rest of the information to follow. A display of Indian kitchen equipment and Indian spices made the chefs and the participants even more curious as they collected samples of all the spices and lentils that were displayed.

The next 3 day sessions were on Goan cuisine. The session began with a brief introduction of Goan cuisine and the Portuguese influence on the same. Goa was the second city de Gama visited on his 1498 voyage, first landing in Calicut. Various specialties such as vindaloo, sarapatel, xacutti, cafreal, caldinho, sannas, bebinca, mangem, fofos were demonstrated. The participants and the chefs were very much interested to learn about the Portuguese connection with the Indian twist in the cuisine. Though the food tasted spicy and hot ( piquante ) to them, they enjoyed the tasting experience accompanied by their local pao (bread) and wines. These demonstrations were then follow-ed by a hands-on session where the participants prepared some of the dishes they had just seen. Also a hands-on kebab workshop was held where students could make variety of kabobs including: Goolar kebab, Galouti kebab, Shikampuri kebab, and ggJhinga til tinka.

The second module of the program began from 31st March – 4th April when 14-15 participants attended the course. Each day Chef Vinodkumar demonstrated a 6-7 course menu representing various Indian regional cuisines such as Tamilnadu, Kerala, Punjabi, Rajasthani and Goan cuisine. Chicken chettinadu, fish puttu, Sambhar, Urlai patani varuval, Semiya payasam of Tamilnadu, Meen polichathu, Avial, Kalan and Olan, Pradhaman of Kerala, Samosa with date and tamarind chutney , Gajjar ka halwa, Punjratani dhal of Punjab and Safeed amas, rajasthani bhindi, Malpua of Rajasthan and savories such as Vazhapoo vadai, Mysore bonda, Dahi wada, were some of the specialties prepared. The chefs, cooks, and the general public enjoyed and appreciated the diversity in the Indian cuisine.

Chef Vinodkumar was then encouraged to give a report on the use of Indian ingredients as a substitute to medicines such as turmeric, nutmeg, cloves, honey, ginger, black peppercorns, curry leaves and fenugreek seeds for minor ailments, for which he was happy to accommodate. The third module was designed for chefs, cooks and office workers who were not able to attend a week long course. The one session was held on 5th April with about 18 participants; the majority of whom were chefs, cooks and food connoisseurs.

Chef Vinodkumar demonstrated 8-9 preparations including Tandoori chicken, Vindaloo, Xacutti , Sambhar, Poori, Lamb and potato curry and Jeera pulao. All the participants were given a dossier of the recipes prepared and a spice chart with samples. A trip to a local Indian market and grocery was arranged for the audience to provide more information on the topic. The feedback from the participants was very encouraging. During the visit Chef Vinodkumar also had the opportunity to visit a few hotel schools in Lisbon to interact and exchange information with trainers and instructors about the hotel schools back in India.

According to Chef Vinodkumar the kitchen facility at the association was excellent and the staff was very polite, meticulous, well organized and helpful. Thanks to the efforts of Chef Fausto Airoldi and the Associação dos Cozinheiros Profissionais de Portugal’s board the visit was a great success; one that will be remembered for years to come.