Chef Venkatesh Bhat recently opened up to the contestants of Celebrity MasterChef Tamil about one of the most unforgettable moments of his career. He looked back on the time Queen Elizabeth II visited India and on a big mistake he made while cooking for her at a special dinner at Taj Coromandel in Chennai.“Queen Elizabeth visited India and stayed in the hotel I was working. A separate three-floor block was arranged for her stay. Even the ingredients required to prepare food were brought from England. They had even brought red beans from England. We were told that we should not say no to anything the Queen wanted us to prepare,” he recalled.Chef Venkatesh then described a special dinner hosted in the Queen’s honour by the then Chief Minister, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. “The dinner was attended by several MLAs and MPs. Our general manager told us that only five chefs, including me, would be preparing food for the ten people seated at the Queen’s table. It was a huge responsibility for us,” he said.Venkatesh then explained the dish at the heart of the incident. “I was preparing a prawn dish. I had to cook the prawns in the oven for exactly three minutes. I prepared everything, placed the prawns inside and waited for the timer to ring. When the three minutes were over, I opened the oven, plated the dish and sent it to the table.”But things didn’t go the way he had hoped. “The Queen looked at the prawn with her spoon, placed the spoon aside and moved the dish away. Everyone was shocked and wondered why she was not eating. The general manager and vice-president also came to find out what had happened,” he recalled.The reason came to light through the clearance report. “The prawns were still raw. It was only when the clearance report came that I realised that, although I had switched on the oven, the fan inside it was not switched on. Around 100 people turned towards me because they knew I was the one who had prepared the dish. I was completely shattered. I felt that everything I had learnt in my life had become meaningless,” he shared.The incident did not bring an end to Venkatesh Bhat’s journey. He eventually rose to become the hotel’s corporate chef, building a successful career. Known for his television appearances in shows such as Cooku with Comali and Samayal Samayal with Venkatesh Bhat, he is now part of Celebrity MasterChef Tamil as a judge. The cooking reality show brings together 12 popular personalities who put their culinary skills to the test through a series of challenging tasks. Through his experiences and guidance, Bhat continues to share his knowledge of food and cooking with the contestants.
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