Tamish Giri

March 2: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has felicitated Master Chef UK finalist Santosh Shah amid a function held at NTB, Kathmandu, on March 2.
Tourism Secretary Yadav Prasad Koirala, NTB CEO Dhananjay Regmi, Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal, and Mani Lamichhane, director of NTB, felicitated Shah for his achievement in the global cookery arena and for promoting Nepali culture and ethnicity through his dishes abroad.
Chef Shah , born in 1985 in Karjana, Siraha, was the finalist of the BBC’s cookery show - Master Chef  UK.
Shah arrived in Nepal upon a special request and initiation of the Pacific Asia Tour Association Nepal Chapter.
Lamichhane informed that Shah's stardom will help Nepal to promote its dishes globally. "Currently, Shah has helped Nepal to promote gastronomy as an additional tourism product and brand the rich ethnicity of the country," Lamichhane informed.  
Likewise, Regmi, during a presentation titled Globalization of Heritage Cuisine of Nepal-Prospects and Opportunities of Gastronomy Tourism in Nepal, informed that NTB will collaborate with Shah to promote Nepali gastronomy.
NTB under the coordination of Karna Shakya, a veteran tourism entrepreneur, had conducted a gastronomy promotion campaign back in 2018 to promote various 200 original dishes of the country.
Similarly, Shah addressing the event, said that Master Chef UK has helped him to promote Nepali food through his signature dishes.

"I highlighted the rich culture of our country through my dishes in Master Chef. We have underestimated the value of our cuisine and ingredients, we need to brand and promote them. Through Master Chef, I have made an initiative to register the trademark of some ingredients," Shah informed.
Shah also stressed the issues hindering the promotion of Nepali cuisine.  "Foreigners have a checklist regarding the issues related to food hygiene, I requested the concerned authority to work on it," he informed.
Shah is currently working on his recipe book and is coming up with some restaurant projects. "I am preparing to launch five signature Nepali dishes in the world map, it will help me to brand the rich gastronomy of the country," he informed.