Arch rivals, India and Pakistan, are meeting regularly on a new battleground to establish their supremacy and this time, the knives are being drawn instead of the daggers. Chefs from either side of the border are competing with each other in “Foodistan,” the new reality television show, conceptualized by the channel, NDTV Good Times.

1) What is Foodistan?

This reality TV show started being telecast on January 23, 2012 at 9.30 PM and  it is all about 16 Indian and Pakistani chefs displaying their culinary might to establish who is superior. The show has two segments – team challenge and individual tasks. Smeeta Chakrabarti, NDTV Lifestyle CEO, says, “Love for food is something that binds the two nations.” This may come as news to the rest of the world, which has always seen the two countries bickering with each other over a certain ‘K’ word. Taking a leaf out of the cricketing world, the television seems set to encash upon the love of food among the people of both the nations. To be telecast three days a week, this show is expected to keep both sides rooted to their television sets for all the masala.

2) The Judges & Anchors

The chefs on the show will be judged by 3 eminent personalities in their respective fields. They are:-

a)      Vir Sanghvi – A well-known foot critic and media personality, Vir writes a regular food column “Rude Food” for the Hindustan Times, apart from doing a lot of other things related to food and media. He feels that the show is “like a competition between English and European cuisines.” He further says, “Pakistani cuisine is essentially Punjabi with influences of Sindhi, Afghani, and Balochi cooking. But the range and variety of Indian cuisine is more diverse. There are 26 different kinds of cuisines in India. Indian food uses coconut and tamarind and many other things which the Pakistani chefs have never used.”

b)      Sonia Jehan – A popular actress and food enthusiast, Sonia is also the grand-daughter of yesteryear actress Noor Jehan. Sonia brings in the much-needed glamour quotient to the show.

c)      Merrilees Parker – She is a British chef and TV presenter, who has also cooked for the British Royal Family. Her no-nonsense cooking style and passion about presentation makes her a very compassionate judge for the Foodistan contestants.

Actors Aly Khan and Ira Dubey will be hosting the program.

3) The Contestants

While the bonhomie is evident right from the first episode, the tempers do flare up when it gets down to action in the kitchen. However, overall, in this battle of egos, there are a few who find something to learn too. One of the contestants, Poppy Agha, from Pakistan, has this to say, “As Pakistanis we know nothing about South Indian food. There is a rivalry, but in this program, we all came together, we learned so much.” Captain of the Indian team, Manish Mehrotra, couldn’t agree more, as he explains, “From the Pakistanis, we learned a lot about their treatment of meat. They do it very nicely….with different techniques.”

4) No Pork, No Beef

To avoid any controversial element to creep into the show vis a vis the ingredients, and in respect to the religious sentiments of both sides, the producers of the show have decided to exclude pork and beef from the menu.

Besides proving the fact that India is warming up to food-based shows, Foodistan also opens a new chapter in the traditional rivalry between the two nations and it remains to be seen whether this new battleground will shed some light of peace upon the beleaguered people of India and Pakistan. Meanwhile, check out the promo on Youtube.

Image Courtesy: dishtracking.com

Video Courtesy: youtube.com