Chess...dosa...vada...The Olympiad has it all

Mamallapuram: The battle of the brains is on in the 44th chess Olympiad here and those from abroad including the players are showcasing their prowess on the board and also trying out the local cuisine and relishing it.

 According to Geert van der Velde, chief executive officer (CEO) of Chessable, an e-learning platforming for mastering the game, it was his first time in India and that eating food from a banana leaf was a very enjoyable experience for him.

“Well, I wasn’t new to Indian cuisine but already a fan. Ever since I discovered Indian cuisine I’ve really enjoyed it. But, of course, this being my first time in India I had never tasted authentic Indian dishes cooked in India. “What was totally new to me was eating with my fingers. I wasn’t aware that this was the traditional way of eating food in India. I have dined at Ethiopian restaurants before where this is the custom. But, I had never eaten Indian food from a banana leaf and it was a very enjoyable experience,” van der Velde told PTI.

His Twitter post “Loved the food so much I went back and brought the whole team...” went viral and saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing it with the comment “India’s culinary diversity is legendary. You will find a dish for every occasion. Glad to see you enjoying Chennai and exploring the city.”

Van der Velde was pleasantly surprised to see the PM responding to his tweet and said, “Of course, I was pleasantly surprised by Honorable Prime Minister Modi’s sharing of my picture sharing a meal with my colleagues at the Adyar Ananda Bhavan in Mahabalipuram. “ He went on to say that “the richness of the flavors of the dishes here in Chennai is very special. There’s a lot of depth to the flavour.” “Although I must admit that I have probably not yet developed enough of a palette for this type of deeply spiced food to be able to appreciate it fully. But, I hope that with time I’ll come to appreciate it even more than I already do. It’s clear to me now that I’ve only managed to sample a very small portion of all the fantastic dishes that Indian cuisine has to offer,” he added.

He and his team had tried out the masala dosa, vada and gobi Manchurian and liked it too, though it was “a bit spicy” apart from a variety of fried rice