The third phase of the ‘Star Chef Hunt’ competition launched by Cherubium Lanka in collaboration with Swarnavahini TV channel and the Education Ministry was held on a grand scale at the Pushpadana Balika Vidyalaya in Kandy recently.

Central Province Education Director E.T.P.K. Ekanayake was a special invitee at this prestigious event, which was conducted under the guidance of NMK Group of Companies Chairman and Managing Director Manjula Narayana. Students and home science teachers representing 112 schools in the Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces participated in this innovative competition held under the close supervision and direction of a team of culinary experts headed by well-known Chef Lloyd Opatha.

While giving a boost to popularize home science as a subject, the ‘Star Chef Hunt’ contest offers a window of opportunity to students to improve their knowledge, fine-tune their talents and broaden their horizons of knowledge, said Ekanayake. He stressed that participation in valuable contests of this nature will be of immense benefit and value to students in the long-term as they progress in life and seek to secure their future.

Addressing the distinguished gathering, L.S.K. Wickremasinghe, Directress of Education in charge of Home Science, expressed her appreciation of the splendid contribution contests such as ‘Star Chef Hunt’ make towards giving an impetus to the sphere of culinary art in the country. On behalf of the Education Ministry, she thanked the organisers for a job well done.

In the quoting of the view at Pushpadana Balika Vidyalaya, Marina Company Head of Sales and Brands Denzil Indrajith said that in addition to deriving knowledge through education, women should learn the art of cookery to win over the modern world and equally importantly, cherish the family unit. It is the responsibility of everybody to make a positive contribution towards raising a progressive generation of Sri Lankan women armed with academic achievements, practical knowledge and the art of culinary skills. As a 100 percent Sri Lankan company, Marina has taken the forefront to make this a reality, he emphasized.
Marina Provincial Sales Manager Chinthaka Gunasekera and his group, members of the ‘Marina Brand’ team, Swarnavahini TV and Education Ministry officials spent the whole day with keen interest and dedication to select the winners of the competition. The winning students, their teachers and the respective schools they represented, were awarded valuable prizes. The winners qualified for inclusion in the final round of the ‘Star Chef Hunt’ competition.

Students who pursue home science as a subject in government schools in all nine provinces are eligible to participate in the Marina Rasa Saraniya ‘Star Chef Hunt’ competition, which is held under the overall supervision of the Education Ministry. The objective of launching this competition was to lend a helping hand to students pursuing home science in schools, broaden their horizons of knowledge, appreciate their efforts, applaud their talents and give recognition to their splendid achievements in public forums. The ‘Star Chef Hunt’ competition, which is incorporated into the popular ‘Marina Rasa Saraniya’ programme over Swarnavahini TV, comprises three different rounds.

The first round is conducted amongst schools on a provincial basis and 36 teams which win under this initial phase will be selected for the second round. A competition will follow amongst these teams and it will be telecast live over the ‘Marina Rasa Saraniya’ programme on Swarnavahini TV. Eighteen teams, which emerge winners, qualify for the final round. The contest amongst these teams in the grand finale will also be telecast live over the ‘Marina Rasa Saraniya’ programme on Swarnavahini TV and those who emerge victorious as well as the schools they represent will be presented with cash awards as well as other prizes. The ‘Marina Rasa Saraniya’, which has been continuing for the past three years, is telecast every Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Swarnavahini TV.

Cherubium Lanka has introduced more than 30 safe and hygienic food products under the Marina brand to the local and international markets. The products portfolio includes Marina coconut oil, Marina coconut milk and Marina Lite. The manufacturing process of the company has been awarded ISO-22000, HACCP, GMP international certifications. NMK Group of Companies and the brand name ‘Marina’ has won ‘SLIM Brand Excellence’ award 2013, respectively. Cherubium Lanka is a company under the wing of NMK Group dedicated towards building a strong and healthy nation while ensuring a better tomorrow to the marginalized sections of the community.