The day’s star attraction is Chef Anupam Banerjee who will use Dilmah t-Series in the delicious culinary creations which he is planning to produce for us. Then he will join the rest of the chefs as they prepare to host a tea inspired dinner for the teamaker and the Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando and his family at the Waters Edge.
Updated 11.00pm, 21st May 2014
The last day on tour was also a big day in every sense. The day, like a capricious woman who couldn’t make up her mind to smile or a sulk kept up a melody of lashing rains and bouts of golden sunshine. But in the kitchen at the Waters Edge, which used to be an 18-hole golf course before it was converted to collection of great restaurants, it was all fire and smoke.
10 of the greatest chefs in the world coming together to explore and be inspired by the world’s finest tea is a rare occurrence. To see them all at world in one kitchen seemed almost surreal. It was like the Tower f Babel but not just voices, but flavours, colours, textures and ideas, all of which were eventually transformed into meticulously crafted tea inspired culinary masterpieces that transcend time, place and origins.
For Anupam Banerjee, the Executive Chef of The Ritz Carlton Bangalore it was even more hectic than it must have been for the others. Apart from preparing for the gala dinner in the evening, he also had to showcase his tea culinary demonstration at the Waters Edge. For Anupam, an extraordinary chef with such immense talent, we offered a tea that is no ordinary tea by any means. He used the Dilmah t-Series to create four stunning dishes which included scallop three ways, panfried bass with cauliflower puree and jasmine and green tea infused vegetables as well as a duet of Darjeeling tea infused tenderloin and pan-seared foie gras served with braised cabbage and fondant potatoes.
The evening under the theme of Camellia Epicurean showcased the stars in all their glory. Drinks were served on the lawn with tea inspired canapés created chefs Anupam Banerjee from India and Jeroen van Oijen from the Netherlands. The dinner consisted of four different appetizers by chefs Alan Orreal, Jodi-Ann Pearton, Jared Ingersoll and Jarek Uscinski, two mains by Matias Palomo and Andrea Ferrero and two types of desserts by Ray McVinnie and Lula Martin del Campo. The teamaker who created the best recognised brand of Ceylon Tea in the world today and his family were treated to some eclectic global flavours at their best. But the brightest star of the evening was tea. This simple herb that made Sri Lanka a household name, Dilmah a global brand loved by millions and what called this unmatched talent from all four corners of the world to gather around one table in celebration of its purity, authenticity and nobility.
