MasterChef India is expected to return next month and the judges say that they cannot be more excited about it. By Unnati Joshi
It’s time to activate your gastronomic skills and head straight to the kitchen. MasterChef India is back with another season. The filming for the show has already begun and this time the popular show will have celebrated chefs from across the world as guest judges. The theme: glocal food.
long time judge and restaurateur Kunal Kapur told us, “The new season is going to be very interesting where the hero is clearly not the contestants nor the judges but the food. This year we have got chefs travelling from all over the world who will be giving challenges with some international ingredients, sometimes with very desi-local ingredients. So this season is the culmination of a lot of interesting stuff”.
Hailing from a family of bankers, Kunal said, “I was very weak with numbers and Maths was a big problem. My family wanted me to be a banker and all my friends and cousins were into these big corporate offices while I was struggling. I just loved watching my grandma in the kitchen and perfect the intricacy of her movements. My grandfather cooked delicacies every Sunday. And I was swept up in their world. Now my office is a kitchen. It’s the coolest office ever!”
Known as the “curry and kebab guy,” Kunal also shared his signature dish. “I am doing my signature dish on the show called ghewar, a spin on tradition. I can’t talk beyond that right now but I think that it will be the most remembered dish this season.” We are told it is a chocolate one.
In a room full of people we heard a flamboyant man asking everyone if they have had food. Certainly a Punjabi we thought. And tada, we saw Zorawar Kalra posing for the cameras. Son of the food connoisseur and chef Jiggs Kalra, Zorawar is now a restaurateur himself. Riding high on the success of his categorised cafes and diners, he said, “The new season is an amazing opportunity for me to go not only on a talent hunt and find some amazing people but being able to get a platform through which I can promote Indian cuisine and culture. That’s why I planned to do the show. It’s a lot of fun. Obviously I had to take a break from my corporate role but at the same time, I am very glad to judge this huge show. This is entirely different this time. It’s bigger and better with some amazing locations. We are travelling all across the world showcasing the best of Indian regional cuisine and also global cuisine. So the show is glocal in nature. We will be creating a lot of drama through food. The entire focus of the show is on cutting-edge techniques, showcasing the best of Indian talent and cuisine to the world.”
From an unknown guy catering to kitty parties in Amritsar to owning a Michelin star restaurant in New York and preparing meal for US President Obama, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna said, “I see chefs now and I don’t see them any different from myself. I just got lucky. It was just a stroke of luck that I was in America at the right time, got to work with the right people and was trained under the right chefs. When I go back home and go through the old pictures and look at my life now, I think it’s sheer luck. For there is a lot of talent out there. life gave me more than I ever asked for.” The sexiest chef is undoubtedly one humble man.
As to why he continues with the show, he reasoned, “I feel the evolution of Indian cuisine and the whole pyramid has gone way higher. When we were growing up, it was all about basic food which I love too much but now I feel we have become competitive in the global market. We have become more focussed now.”
Equip yourself for a game of glocal recipes, exotic destinations, toughest challenges. After all, it is #NotJustAHobby but a journey to win the title. The show will telecast its first episode on October 1 on STAR Plus.