CELEBRATIONS -- 21:

WHEN CHILDREN MADE TOURISTS SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS

By P S SUNDAR 

The Gateway Coonoor, IHCL SeleQtions hotel from the top range Taj group, continued with its practice of inviting children from low-income families for rendition of Carols at Christmas Eve celebrations on Tuesday night, much to the appreciation of the elite guests.

Interestingly, the eight students of the Government-aided St Antony’s Higher Secondary School, Coonoor, kept the visitors singing the Carols along with them.  Another student played keyboard.

  

“Our pianist Felix Marshall trained these children for this presentation.  Now, they repose confidence for professional rendition.  That is the unforgettable Christmas gift we could give to those from marginalised sections of society”, Gateway General Manager R Muralidharan told me.

“They are also symbol of ‘universal bonhomie’ as they belong to different religions but render Christmas Carols in unison.  We highlighted the significance of love through our narration and songs”, Marshall said.

The children were awestruck when Executive Chef Ramalingam and Food and Beverage Manager Balamurugan took them, along with their teacher Arputharaj, to the expansive dining hall and encouraged them to enjoy whatever they liked from the huge spread of Christmas dinner, the same which was served to the elite guests.  

“These children have not had such an experience before.  We enjoyed giving them an unforgettable Christmas celebration”, Muralidharan said.

“Likewise, the Christmas magic show by Ravindran engaged the children and elders alike", he said.

"And, the gifts given by our Santa Claus made Christmas cheerful for those who had come from different places”, he noted.

“We grow Christmas Tree permanently in our garden.  We created the Christmas Crib with the plants taken from our garden.  Tourists enjoyed taking photos with them as the place looked like typical English villa”, Housekeeping Manager Nagaraj said.

The entire campus right from the gate was illuminated with colour lights to enhance the festive ambience.  

“For this Christmas dinner, we had four divisions – barbeque in the open, live Aappam, pasta and chaat counters, main course dishes and a huge counter for desserts and fruits”, Balamurugan said.

“Our dinner spread covered Indian, Chinese and continental to suit the differing palate including 11 varieties of bread, 13 types of salad, five types of dressings, 18 Chaat items, four starters, six cheese and raitha items, six heritage-style live counter dishes, eight barbeque items, 27 dishes in main course, 14 dessert varieties and many fruit juices and soft drinks”, Executive Chef Ramalingam disclosed.

In particular, there were many dishes with tea base – green tea and white tea – as in the case of vegetable wanton or fried wanton dipped in White Tea infusion as a special attraction.

Executive Chef Ramalingam had listed the Menu for Christmas Eve celebrations as under::

  White Tea Infused Fried Wanton Prawn Bouillon

   Cream Of Broccoli roasted almond / Cheese Garlic Croute

Bread Display

      Jewish Challah Bread

      Garlic Pesto And Olive Focaccia

      Multigrain Rolls

      Chilli And Cheese Rolls

      Oregano Rolls

      Hard Rolls

      Whole Wheat Rolls

      Grissini

      Oats Rolls.

      Fancy Bread Displays/Hard Rolls/

       Soup Sticks /Twisted

SALAD

      Quinoa Salad With Baby Spinach, Rocket Leaves And Watercress

      Pink Salt Crusted Roasted Sweet Potato Mustard Celery Mayonnaise

      Grilled Pineapple In Jalapeno

      Kothmir Salad

      Roasted Brustchetta With Tomato Olives

      Beetroot Honey Dill Leaf Salad

      Pasta In Basil Pesto

      Cucumber Tomato Feta Cheese Salad

      Apple Celery S/W

      Beanspourts Sundried Salad

      Hummus Bi Tahini

      Tabbouleh Salad

      Roasted Potato Wedge Crust Nuts Spring Onion

CONDIMENTS

      Olives

      Sun Dried Tomatoes

      Fried Lemon Chilli

      Feta Cheese

      Lettuce (Three Varieties)

      Cherry Tomato

      Sprouted Beans

      Marinated Mushroom

      Vegetable crudités

DRESSING

      Coriander Mango  Dressing

      Curry Leaves Dressing

      Honey Chilly Dressing

      Citrus Vinaigreete

      Lemon Chilly Jaggery

CHAT COUNTER

      Sweet Chutney

      Jaljeera Water In Pot

      Lemon Wedge

      Chatmasala

      Blacksalt

      Dry Mango Powder

      Coriander Chapped

      Tomato Chopped

      Onion Chopped

      Chopped Chillysev

      Panipuri

      Papdi

      Mixture

      Puffed Rice

      Boiled Channa

      Green Peas

      Potato Diced

      Mint Chutney

Starter

      Peri-Peri Tea Crusted Fried Prawns

      Herbal Tea Dusted Chicken In Feta Cheese  Dip

      Samosa In Tea Tamarind Sauce-Veg/Non Veg

      Marinated Tea Buds Cherry Tomato Kalamata Olives Tofu Saslik

CHEESE PLATTER

      Two Type Of The Local Cheese With Marinated Olives,

      Celery Relish, Grapes, Crackers.

Raita

      Pomegranate raita

      Plain curd / Blackcurrant  curd.

      RoastPapad/Vadagams/

      Applam

Heritage style –live counter

      Appam & Vegetable S

      Live –Coin Paratha ,Methi Paratha

      SPOT: Risotto & Pasta

      Penne,Spagetti,Fussli,Macroni

      Sauce -: Bolognaise. Arabiata Spicy Tomato, Cheese Sauce.

      Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Parsely

Bar-Be-Que Live Counter :

      Lasooni Mahi Fish Tikka

      Chicken Bara Kebab

      Chicken  Surk Lala Tikka

      Tiwali Babari Aloo & Mushroom

      Tandoori Broccoli

      Tandoor Baby Corn

      Tandoor Grilled Pineapple

      Mutton Shami Kebab

Veg &Non Veg Cold Counter

      Roasted Grilled Chicken Slice

      Roast Leg Of Lamb Slice In Mint Sauce

      Vegetable Carving

      Chicken Galantine

      Thyme Rubbed Roast Butter Turkey With Cranberry Sauce

       

Non Veg –Hot  Dish

      Tea Roast Tenderloin Thyme Jus With Brown Garlic ,With Rosted Baby Potato

      Bhuna Shallots Jungle Gosht

      Fish Chermoula Grilled With Olives

      Chicken oyster Sauce

Vegetable Dish

      Tea Roast Vegetable Stuffed With  Garden Blue Cheese  With Crispy Potato

      Stir Fry Vegetable In Tofu

      Lasooni Palak Kofta

      Subzi Nizami Handi

      Bendakka Fry With Nuts

      Manchatti Mashroom Melgu Masala .

      Fresh Avarai With Sweet Potato Tossed With Ground Coconut Masala

      Makkai Mutter  Kolanji

      Nilgiri Vegetable Kurma

      Kadalai Curry

      Dal Bukhara

      Dal Tempura

       

      Pulao

      Zafrani In Apricot  Pulao

      Vietnam Butter  Fried Rice

      Singaporean Vegetable Noodle

      Plain Rice

      Curd Rice

      Kambu Curd Rice (Millet)

Desserts

      Orange Crème Brulee –Non-veg

      Kiwi Romanoff Oreo .Sugar Free-Veg

      Red Velvet Cake--

      Black Forest Cinnamon Yule Log--

      Ice Box Lychees Cheese Cake

      Holiday Stolen Bread

      Lemon Pie

      Apple Strudel--Veg

       Plum Slice Cake

       Angur Jamoon

      Ada Pardhaman

      Fruits display

      Vanilla ice cream

      Butterscotch  ice cream.

Sauces

      Hot Chocolate Sauce / Nut Praline /Butter Scotch Sauce

      Nilgiri Tea/South Indian Filter Coffee

While the photos relating to food display were taken by me, all other photos were taken by Vishnu, Coonoor-based young photographer who is also engaged for photographic documentation for projects including by French Government and British Government..

    

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)