It was a day on which the techies cared more about the ‘bites’, rather than the usual ‘bytes’. A food festival organised by the Network of Women USociates (NowU), a collective of women working in UST- Global, at Technopark on Monday witnessed the employees trying to outdo each other in culinary expertise.
Twenty-five teams, comprising employees of the company, were part of the competition. The fare put on display was hard to classify, with ‘Naadan’, continental, Italian and a variety of other cuisines vying for attention.
“The food festival is one of our most popular initiatives. It is an annual event. The competing teams were asked to bring food prepared from their homes. So they were all busy for the whole weekend to put on display their best items. Employees from other companies visited the stalls in large numbers,” says Renjitha Nair, Programme Manager of NowU.
Vinay Menon, an employee of UST Global, says that the main attraction for the visitors was that all of items on display were prepared at home, unlike the usual food festivals.
Two popular chefs judged the competition and prizes were given to the best stall and best dish. An audience choice award was also given. The proceeds from the food sales would be utilised entirely for charity. A food quiz was also organised as part of the fest.
The NowU, which organised the show, regularly organises internal events for the benefit of women working in the company.
“In addition to the fun events like this food festival, we organise regular sessions to improve their communication and leadership skills. We have experts coming from outside to conduct these sessions. Every woman employee in the company is a member of NowU by default,” says Ms. Renjitha.