Master chefs cook long and hard to break records

CHENNAI: First Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar did it. Now Chef K Damodaran's having a go at it. And then Chef Jacob's up again. Chennai's chefs are cooking up a storm, and in record time at that. Jacob and Damodaran are the first two chefs in the country to attempt (and in Jacob's case, make it) to the Guinness records in the individual category.
On December 21 at 7.30am, Damodaran will get started on cooking 440kg of vegetables and meat in 500 different recipes for 25 hours in the presence of guests and judges, all so he can fulfil his life-long dream of making it to the Guinness Book of World Records in an individual category for the longest cooking marathon.
"I've been doing exercises to keep me strong for the entire day. I'll also have a doctor and physiotherapist on call," says 54-year-old Damodaran, who has been told by the Guinness officials that he can only take a five-minute break every hour.
Just last month, Jacob earned himself a spot in the Guinness book for the longest individual barbecue marathon, when he grilled 485 barbecue dishes, vegetarian and non-veggie, for 24 hours and 5 minutes. Why the five? "Well, it makes it that much harder for someone to beat me," says Jacob.
Apart from their own personal dreams, the chefs insist they are also doing it to popularise south Indian cuisine. Which is the reason Jacob has planned another Guinness attempt in February 2011, which he calls the longest south Indian cooking marathon. "I will feature signature Chettinadu cuisine as well as other south
Indian food," says Jacob. "The second attempt is looking a little easier now that I have already done one," he says.