Savoury or sweet, there’s nothing like a good cuppa

What’s more, some teas can be enjoyed in many more ways than by adding boiling water; Ceylon tea, for example, is an excellent ingredient for both savoury and dessert dishes.
To showcase the wonder of its premium-quality Ceylon tea, leading brand Dilmah recently launched its cooking competition, “Dilmah Tea Inspiration for 21th Century”, to search for the best teams of chefs and mixologists whose creativity and masterful cooking techniques intertwined to deliver gourmet renditions. The contest is being held on August 22 and 23 at a variety of venues across the world.

“We want to introduce and cultivate a new tradition among Thai people that tea can be an integral part of everyone’s everyday life. It can be enjoyed as cold and hot beverages, cocktails and savoury dishes as well as desserts. That’s why we are organising this new competition that invites new chefs and mixologists to showcase their talents in designing dishes and beverages inspired by our Ceylon tea,” says TasaneeAsawagovitwong, general manager and founder of Global Premium Wine, the official importer of Dilmah Tea in Thailand.

Founded by 1988, Dilmah is a Sri Lankan brand of tea whose founder, Merrill J Fernando is known today as the world’s most experienced teamaker Fresh and free of contamination, Dilmah tea prides itself for its unique and authentic tastes and is grown and harvested in its very own plantations.
Renowned mixologist, Tomek Malek, the fourth winner of World Champion Flair Bartender, makes tea a distinctive ingredient in his specially invented drink. “Creating a new drink with tea as main ingredient is just like an art of interweaving flavors. Tea can play a principle role in cocktails, mocktails and shooters. Bringing together all these different tastes and flavors is no different from creating a work of art. Incorporating tea in a drink requires the skills and creativity and a mixologist needs to have a great understanding of the characteristics of each type of tea because each has its own idiosyncratic flavor and smell. Tea adds an interesting and exciting flair to a drink, especially the Ceylon Tea because it has such as unique, full flavor,” he explains.
Malek’s Black tea with Lychee Ice Cream Soda, combines 25 ml of lychee Dilmah tea, 120 ml. sparkling water, and two scoops of vanilla ice cream. He starts by filling half a glass with ice, pours the black tea and sparkling water in and mixes them together before placing the vanilla ice cream on top and finishing with another layer of sparkling water. Decorate with any toppings that complement the flavours. 

Australian chef Peter Kuruvita, Dilmah’s brand ambassador describes the brand’s high quality Ceylon tea as a full of incredible health benefits. “It’s rich in antioxidants, can reduce cholesterol and keep you physically healthy. For that reason, we use it as a cooking ingredient and thanks to the amazing arrays of tastes and smells, new dishes and tastes can be created. Dishes include a wholesome tea soup and vegetable set, tea spaghetti that’s rich in nutrients, super delicious tea dipping sauce, and such desserts as crepe cake with tea filling and tea Creme brulee.”
For this special project, Kuruvita has created a dish called Dilmah Exceptional Rose with French Vanilla Pannacotta. To make it, just prepare 375 ml of cream, 375 ml. of milk one vanilla bean, 115 g of castor sugar, 4 g of gelatin, and Dilmah’s Exceptional Rose with French Vanilla Tea. Start by mixing the cream and milk together. Scrape vanilla seeds from the bean into a pan, following by the Dilmah’s Exceptional Rose with French Vanilla Tea and the earlier mixed liquid ingredients. Let everything boil at medium heat for 10 minutes. Take the vanilla bean out, add the sugar and keep the ingredients on low heat for another 5 minutes until the sugar is nicely melted. Add the dissolved gelatin to the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the serving glasses and decorate. 
Visit Dilmah Tea Thailand’s facebook page and the project’s official website www.teainspired.com for application details.