Genre Cooking Country of origin India No. of episodes 34 | Presented by Venkatesh Bhat Original language(s) Tamil | |
Running time approx. 40-45 minutes per episode | ||
Samayal Samayal with Venkatesh Bhat is a Tamil language Indian television series featuring chef Venkatesh Bhat cooking 100 of his top recipes, that everyday-cooks and viewers can try. The program focuses on what have been described by Times of India as "exciting recipes, especially South Indian" cuisine.
Contents
The show premiered on 23 August 2014 and airs on Vijay TV every Saturday at 2pm, with repeat episodes sometimes aired at varying times.
Show format
The show features Venkatesh Bhat sharing his experience and knowledge with cooking techniques, and demonstrating 100 hand picked recipes from his cook book. The show also features various celebrities, including stars from other Vijay TV television programs such as Saravanan Meenatchi.
The format of the show changed from the earlier version of the show entitled Samayal Samayal, which aired on Vijay TV in 2001 for half an hour on Sundays at 1pm. The format of that version featured both Sharmila and Venkatesh Bhat, and filming was before a live audience who participated in the show.
Venkatesh Bhat
The presenter of the show, Venkatesh Bhat, is both a chef and CEO. He comes from the Udupi-Mangalore belt. Notwithstanding Bhat being a strict vegetarian, Bhat is also proficient at non-vegetarian cooking.
Bhat studied catering at Asan Memorial, and obtained a graduate degree from Cornell University and majored in general management in his studies at Nanyang University, Singapore. Bhat initially worked in the kitchens of Hotel Chola Sheraton in 1994. Two years later, he moved to Taj Coromandel as a management trainee in hotel operations and kitchen management before being promoted to the position of sous chef in 1998. In 2001, Bhat joined Leela Palace in Bangalore as an executive sous chef and was promoted to corporate chef by 2004. Bhat quit corporate life in 2007 to become an entrepreneur, before launching several brands and restaurants including South Indies, Up South, and Bon South.
Bhat later joined Accord Metropolitan, as well as Accord Puducherry, and Highland Hotel in Ooty. During the daytime, he is a CEO of the hotels. During the evenings, he is a chef, and focuses on the hotel's Royal Indianaa restaurant which serves South Indian cuisine, as well as the hotel's other eateries including Pergola, the Zodiac Bar and the brick oven.