The Delhi-based contestant of Junior MasterChef Swaad Ke Ustaad, Shivin Uppal, says he will astonish the judges and audience with his knowledge on global cuisines. By D Kaushik

We would definitely not expect a 12-year-old to share how cooking a cheese fondue for 10 minutes at a medium flame would prevent the cheese from splitting. He sounds like an expert when he talks about the kind of cheeses that he mixed for coming up with his version of cheese fondue which is super sticky. Shivin Uppal can beat most of the food connoisseurs with his knowledge of different cuisines. Italian and Thai are his favourites and he loves both for the simplicity of the dishes. “The more I moved out and ate across places in Delhi and other cities I found out that Italian is not about pizzas and pastas and Thai is not about green or red curry and jasmine rice. There is so much more that we can explore about the cuisines. So started my experiments in the kitchen with the dishes, some facts were shared by my mother and some information I collected from the Internet. But I started experimenting with food at a young age and over the years the passion for cooking different dishes, experimenting with ingredients and exploring food habits from different regions across the world grew with each day,” informed Shivin Uppal, a DPS RK Puram student, who is one of the contestants at Junior MasterChef Swaad Ke Ustaad on Star Plus.

Shivin’s mother takes cooking classes and also has a small catering unit, so since early age Shivin was exposed to different cooking styles and dishes. “Even while travelling with my parents we tried out local cuisine of the places and food always inspired me to learn more about it. When I would return I would ask my mother if we can try out the recipes that we had at some place in our kitchen. She has always been encouraging. Recently when I was talking to the judges of the show, they asked me that since I am more interested in international cuisines how would I prepare the Indian dishes on the show. I proved it to them that I know as much about the Indian cuisine as any other cuisine from the world. I also told them that thanks to my travels with my parents I have tried food at various places and have knowledge about it,” shared Shivin. Through TV advertisements of the show, he got the details of mass auditions and among many other things that he prepared, all by himself, was the tiramisu which was loved by the judges. For the televised auditions he prepared chicken amalfi. He is going through grooming sessions for the show in Mumbai and says he is not missing school at all. “Attending school is about following a regular course which others are also doing. I am fortunate to get this platform where I can learn so many new things. The shoot hasn’t even begun yet and I have already learnt how to present myself better,” he said.

He says his purpose of participating in the show is not to become a chef. “I am inspired by people like Heston Marc Blumenthal, who come up with interesting things, like pairing wine and chocolate. So I want to be someone like him with great knowledge on food and adding his own bit to it,” he summed up.