KYRGYZSTAN-PILAU FESTIVAL Pilau chefs compete in traditional Central Asian culinary showdown in Kyrgyzstan

Record ID: 141746

  • Title: KYRGYZSTAN-PILAU FESTIVAL Pilau chefs compete in traditional Central Asian culinary showdown in Kyrgyzstan
  • Date: 2nd September 2015
  • Summary: PEOPLE CHEERING THE FIRST PRIZE - SHEEP WINNER GETS DIPLOMA FROM JURY
  • Embargoed: 17th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kyrgyzstan
  • Country: Kyrgyzstan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC26WMN8SK5SVYNOFFD06CTJCI
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE - SHOTS 19 and 20 ARE DUPLICATED IN ERROR
    Hundreds flocked to the village of Alamudun near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to witness the best chefs competing in cooking pilau - one of Central Asia's iconic foods.
    The annual Pilau festival was held in the republic for the third time on the day when Kyrgyzstan celebrated the Independence day - in 1991 the former Soviet republic declared itself a sovereign state.
    The tempting smell was spreading from large cast iron cooking pots in which pilau gurus prepared their treats. Traditionally pilau is made of rice, meat, carrots, garlic and other vegetables.
    "The rice is from Tashkent, there is a new type (of rice) - Lazer, the last times time we've cooked it from Devzera rice, this time we've decided to try and cook it from Lazer. You will now what it is like if you stay on," explained Server, one of the contest participants.
    According to the event organizers, eleven teams from Russia, Germany, Kazakhstan and other countries took part in the competition. Some participants wore traditional costumes.
    "Our team is called "Sultan and his team". We cook pilau without using any pre-cooked staff, additives, we cook it so that it looks like it should look," says one of the competitors Sultan Kyrymshakov.
    The pilau-masters had to cook at least three kilograms of the meal using their own unique recipes. The jury faced an uneasy challenge - to try every meal and choose the best chef.
    "Believe me, it was very difficult to decide on a winner, very difficult. The important role played the way it (pilau) tasted, it was presented and the way tables were set up. As you've seen we calmly walked around, looked, checked. I will not keep you waiting - the first place goes to the first team," the jury member Alexey Filmonenko said.
    The first prize - a sheep - was taken by a local team from Kyrgyzstan. Its leader Zamin Tompashev said it was his innovative approach to the traditional meal that paved the way to victory.
    "Good rice, good meat - quails. Quails give pilau a special taste, most likely because of this, because of our original decision, innovations we've got the first prize," said Tompashev.
    The audience was not only treated with delicious meals, but also with dancing contest, trade fair, fireworks and performance by a popular local band.
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