Chef of the year

The Dhaka Sheraton Hotel recently hosted the final competition of "Monitor Chef of the Year 2005" on the 13th of April. It is the first of its kind in Bangladesh, organized by premier Travel Publication The Bangladesh Monitor in association with the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, along with a host of co-sponsors that include Emirates Airline, Bangladesh Edible Oil Mills Ltd. and Square Consumers Ltd. The competition was divided into two sections the amateur group and the professional group. The latter consisted of professional chefs whereas the former were mainly people who had taken up cooking as a hobby. The ambience was distinctively 'deshi,' festive and colourful, and the guests were free to mingle with the chefs and ask questions about the dishes they had presented. The competition was judged by nine members of the jury board, including Siddiqua Kabir, Chief of the Jury Committee. A regular writer on health, food, nutrition and cooking, and the author of "Bangladesh Curry Cookbook," amongst others, Kabir is a star in her own right. During her speech Kabir mentioned that the winning dishes from the two categories would be chosen on the basis of its colour, texture, flavour and aroma. Presentation of the food, the use of only Bangladeshi ingredients, and a Bangladeshi recipe were other factors that would determine the winning dish.

The winners were Md. Motaleb Hossain from the professional group, for his dish, 'Tasty Steam Vegetable,' and Shaheda Akhtar from the amateur group for 'Murg Musallam.' Hossain works for Buemarch Music Café in Dhanmondi, and Akhtar is a homemaker. Both chefs were brought on stage and given trophies along with cash prizes amongst others. Chief guest Mir Mohammed Nasiruddin, Honorable State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, and special guest Mr. Iqbal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism did the honours of presenting the trophies.
The event was an effort to highlight traditional Bangladeshi
cuisine, and was no doubt a successful endeavor overall.

By Rubaiyat Khan

IPS
Do power failures irritate you? If your answer is yes, then the sad news for you is that power failures are likely to continue. However, you need not get flustered. By installing IPS (Instant Power Supply) in your home, you'll be able to ensure that some of your fans and lights will continue to operate even after a power failure takes place. Besides fans and lights, an IPS will enable you to operate at least one television set. If you go to the showrooms of Micro, you'll find that IPS of various capacities are sold. Depending on the capacity of the IPS, its price will range between Tk 15,900 to Tk 47,200.

Pen Drive
Are you fed up of using a floppy disk? If you are, then you are in the majority, as floppy disks are not capable of storing much data and they are also unreliable. The modern way of storing data is to use a pen drive. Pen drives will enable you to store at least 128MB of data, and they have so far proven to be quite reliable. If you go to the computer shops of IDB Bhaban or Elephant Road you will find that 128MB pen drives (Brands: Kingston & Philips) are sold in the range of Tk 1,050 to Tk 1,250. Pen drives of 256MB are also available in the market, and they cost in the range of Tk 1,750 to Tk 1,850.

Television
In recent months our politicians have given us quite a few hartals, and speculation is rife that there are more hartals in the pipeline. One of the best ways to kill time on a hartal day is to watch television. Besides watching television to kill time, by watching television after a hard day of work, you'll be able to liven up your spirits. At the showrooms of Philips, various models of television sets are being sold. Depending on screen size, prices start from Tk 9,900 and go up to a whopping Tk 260,000.

Party Candles
Is the birthday of your child coming up soon? If it is, besides purchasing a cake you'll have to purchase a few party candles so that your child isn't deprived of the fun of blowing out candles! Party candles of various shapes and sizes are available at places like Archies and Hallmark. If you happen to live near Gulshan you can check out Purple Haze (Gulshan 2, Near American Burger), as they've got quite a few party candles. Their prices start from Tk 45 onwards.

Nakshi Kantha Purse
You've probably used a leather purse over the years, but now in order to add a bit of variety you can try out using a nakshi kantha purse. These purses are truly unique and so by using them you'll look quite fashionable. At the branches of Aarong, you'll find some exquisitely designed nakshi kantha purses, and their prices start from Tk 120 onwards.

Photo Frame
There might be certain pictures that you might want to put up for display on your desk or wall. In order to ensure that the pictures don't get damaged, we suggest that you put them in a photo frame. Besides buying photo frames for yourself, you can also give them to a friend or relative as a gift. Photo frames of different shapes and sizes are available at the branches of Aarong. Their prices usually begin from Tk 120 onwards.

By Sayeed Mahmud Nizam

LS alert

First aid flubs
Unless you're a hypochondriac, you'd probably run to your first-aid kit in cases of minor injuries instead of rushing to a doctor. You might even resort to home remedies instead of trusting in the pills and potions of modern medicine. Indeed, many home remedies have proven more effective than the wonders of today's science and technology. However, doctors still tend to frown on such measures, because of the tendency to make critical mistakes with self-medication. Here is a list of common first aid mistakes, and their consequences.

Cuts and scrapes
In the event of a cut, the first thing many people do is reach for the iodine bottle, or treat the area with alcohol. Now, both are used as disinfectants by surgeons around the globe, and there is no denying that they are extremely effective for killing harmful germs. Applied on unbroken skin, as in before a surgery, they'll sterilize the area like nothing else. However, if the skin is broken, and you apply either iodine or alcohol on the area, you damage the healthy cells in the area, and this slows down the healing process. That's why it stings. Your best bet would be to wash the area with water, pat it dry, and cover it with Band-Aid, or clean gauze, or anything that lets the wound breathe and protects it from germs at the same time.

Burns
People do all kinds of crazy things like applying butter, soy sauce, or even toothpaste to soothe the burns…what they end up doing is infect the wound. When you have a burn injury, the first thing doctors advise is to run cold water over the area to cool it, and clean it. Apply proper burn ointment like Burnol. In case of serious burns, run cold water over the area, and then call a doctor.

That pretty much covers the most important first-aid mistakes. I'll leave you with a reminder about something you should already know by now: keep your first aid box out of reach of children.

By Sabrina F Ahmad

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