Culinary crusaders of SICA promote goodwill

Dressed in a white jacket paired with checkered pants, chefs representing different restaurants in the city gathered at The Residency Hotel on August 12.

The elections are conducted every three years to give an opportunity to all members to take on leadership roles

CHENNAI: Dressed in a white jacket paired with checkered pants, chefs representing different restaurants in the city gathered at The Residency Hotel on August 12. The hall was filled with black aprons and long chef hats peeping from the crowd. The aroma of piping hot refreshments wafted through the air. South India Chefs Association (SICA) conducted its annual general meeting and board elections. Celebrity chef Damodaran was elected as the president of the team.

The elections are conducted every three years to give an opportunity to all members to take on leadership roles. And, to further elevate the organisation’s goal, the advancement and betterment of the chef ’s fraternity. SICA is a fraternity of culinary professionals representing the finest restaurants and culinary institutions in south India. “What started out with four members has now expanded to 1,500 members. Earlier, people used to address us as samayalkaran’. The fight for being identified as chefs developed into an association.

There are 60 women chefs from Chennai who are a part of the group. The number might be relatively less because of the nature of the job,” said chef Damu who founded SICA along with four other chefs. SICA is an independent, apolitical, voluntary and nonprofitable body of professionals from varied backgrounds and specialties. It is affiliated with the Indian Federation of Culinary Association, which is the nodal body of culinary associations in India and affiliated with the World Association of Chefs Societies, the apex body of the culinary professionals world over.

• “It’s mandatory to meet once a month and discuss the social events for the year. We also take part in international conferences to update ourselves. We’re called as jury for food competitions happening in other parts of the world. My agenda is to help the needy, bring up the standards of cooking in hotels, and certification programmes for chefs to upgrade their skills. We’re ready to sponsor aspiring students in the hospitality sector. With the help of the government, we can conduct hygiene classes for street vendors to ensure healthy food is prepared for the public. We also request the government to rope us in with the tourism department. We can help by bringing heritage cooking and promoting local recipes,” he said.
•  Alongside board members, there are designated vice presidents in every state — Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu to represent the needs and developments. The main objective is to promote goodwill, contribute to the welfare of the society, exchange ideas and cooperation among the fraternity, raise the standards of culinary trade, and to develop the art of fine cooking.