An all-men team cooked lip-smacking Kadai Paneer, a common Indian Cottage cheese preparation delicately prepared on a wok, to walk away with the first prize in the inaugural Masterchef competition held at Samsung India headquarters in Gurugram. It helped that the four-member team was led by Hotel Management graduate Surya Kanta Dash.

“We delegated activities within the team, which helped us to deliver the way we wanted. We had excellent team coordination,” said Mr. Dash, a General Manager with Samsung India.

Chef Vishal Nigam, who was the chief judge for Samsung India’s Masterchef Competition, said the winning team displayed the qualities needed to cook a delicious recipe.

“Contestants were judged according to taste, presentation and consistency. Dishes cooked here were amazing and fabulous and it was a fantastic competition,” Mr. Nigam said.

Nearly 80 odd employees from Samsung India donned the chef’s hat to showcase their culinary skills for the Masterchef competition. Each team comprised four participants, including family members.

Each team had to choose one dish from a pre-fixed list. 50 minutes were given to prepare the delicacies.

Kavita Bisht’s team cooked Kadhi, a thick gravy dish, and was adjudged joint winners.

“We never thought this could be so big and large. We really enjoyed a lot,” said Ms. Bisht.

“We were under a lot of pressure to cook the right dish but we really enjoyed. It is a great initiative as it brought us all together,” said Sukhvinder Sharma.

The group-based activity not only presented employees with the opportunity to cook and showcase their culinary skills but helped them develop strong bonds with their team members.

“At Samsung, it is our constant endeavour to bring fun and laughter at workplace. The Masterchef event not only increased bonding among employees, but also provided a glimpse of our culture to family members of many of our colleagues,” said Arun Arora, Director, HR at SIEL.

Deepak Sachan, part of the team that was runners-up, said Samsung is a great place to work and events like the Masterchef competition added cool quotient to the work place.

“We are a large family with thousands of colleagues working out of the same building. It’s great fun to be part of such events because we get to know our colleagues from different teams,” Mr. Sachan added.

The audience too had a great time during the Masterchef competition. When not cheering for their favourite team, spectators got the opportunity to taste different cuisines – from Mushroom Matar Masala and Spring Rolls to Manchurian Fry, Chilly Paneer and Veg Salt & Pepper.

Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia met the participants and wished them luck

Mr. Ken Kang, MD & Head, Mobile Business, Samsung India felicitated the winners