City gym trainer Ripudaman Handa wins MasterChef India Kitchen Ke Superstar, Rs 1 crore and an opportunity to write his own cookbook. He now hopes to hone his skills at an international culinary institute and earn more stars before opening a signature restaurant

There is nothing called a gentle rebel but Ripudaman Handa proved that there could be one. He broke the norm of his conservative family from Tilak Nagar, who were dead against his becoming a chef, and made entire India a fan of his innovative cooking methods.

Ripu was announced the winner of MasterChef India Kitchen Ke Superstar late Friday and we caught with the star of the evening while he was running from one corner of the set to the other assembling good wishes and occasionally shaking a leg with his co-contestants on the cookery show. His voice hardly contained his excitement when he said, “It is a dream come true. My only objective of participating in a show was to prove it to my parents that I can cook and make a name in the field. I think I did that even before winning the show. The win is just the bonus.” He thanked his fans time and again while he spoke to us. “I am amazed at the number of fans that the show has given me. You will not believe that just a while back I was walking down to the sets and there was a group of over 15 girls who   screamed and waved enthusiastically. I initially was confused and asked them if they were actually waving to me. They collectively shouted Ripu and I was overwhelmed,” shared Ripu, who got the sample of his popularity when he was in Delhi last during the auditions of MasterChef Junior. Mommies lined to get clicked with him and kids ran behind to get his autographs. “I think it is only because of the love and support of my fans that I won the show. But this popularity is a mystery, I sometimes wonder when and how did I get so popular,” he said.

Ripu was a gym trainer before becoming a part of the show and his only experience in cooking was of assisting his mother in kitchen. But he said that he learnt a lot while being on a show and he looks forward to learn more.

Ripu won Rs 1 crore and an opportunity to write his own cookbook. “I am already penning down a recipe book. They are healthy and innovative and not the ones audience saw me cooking in the show. I think this is just the beginning I have a long journey ahead. I want to learn more and get training in some good institute. Only after I think I have enough knowledge and experience I would think of coming up with my own restaurant in Delhi or at any other place,” he shared.

Ripu feels that his confidence and positive attitude helped him stand apart in the show.

“I treat my cooking like my girlfriend. I love it most, I am confident of it and I never let any sort of pressure affect my preparation. Also I learnt a lot from the three chefs, who will be my mentor all my life,” he stated.

The celebrations of his success and party will continue in Delhi, when Ripu returns to his home in Tilak Nagar tomorrow. But before anything he wants to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar and offer his thanks to the almighty for the victory.

‘He proved us wrong’

Ripu’s parents say they were letting their son pass time his own way and never thought he would win laurels

While Ripudaman was busy celebrating with friends on the sets, his mother who went to Mumbai for the finale of the show, reminisced about the time when Ripu cooked lachcha parantha, shahi paneer and dal to impress her. “Everybody in our family has been fond of cooking so we thought it is Ripu’s hobby to experiment in the kitchen. It was later we realised that he was serious about it as a career choice,” shared his mother and added that she thought that Ripu was inspired by one of his cousins who went abroad. “Since most youngsters dream of working in foreign countries we thought he too wants to be a chef and participate in the show to get a chance to go abroad. Humne socha zid pe ada hai to karne do ise time pass (we thought if he is adamant about it then let him pass some time).” But to his family’s surprise Ripu proved his family wrong.

Now his parents want him to pursue his dream and get training from some foreign institute. “It will be too early for him to start his own venture. let him learn more and make most of the guidance that he will get from chefs — Sanjeev Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor and Vikas Khanna,” she said.