Delhi-based Ripu Daman Handa had nursed a passion and love for cooking since he was a young boy. He talks to Shifa Naseer about his journey so far, his opinion on fusion food and his future plans
When 21-year-old Ripu Handa was declared winner of the third season of MasterChef India in 2013, he won to things — he clinched the trophy and won a lot of hearts with his boyish charms and dimpled smile.
He is a charmer in real life too and you cannot get tired of talking about food with him. And why would youIJ He’s a Punjabi and Punjabis love their food. We met up with him recently and yes, he is quite a chatter.
We did not even need to ask him about his love for food. He just began, “I have always been enthusiastic about cooking — I am a Punjabi,” pointing to himself. “The love for food has been infused by my mother. I used to watch her while she cooked and then took to cooking myself,” he added.
Three years, and another reality show, later (Nach Baliye) he still feels that MasterChef happened by chance. “It was complete chance that I decided to audition for MasterChef. The auditions were being held in my neighbourhood and so I just went there and got in the line. There were only ladies in the queue and I was the only guy there.”
Being only 21 at the time, Handa underwent eight auditions instead of the regular three. Talking about how his cooking is different from the others, he said, “I liked cooking for the langar at Bangla Sahib and maybe that is why I cook from my heart. It is a ritual for me and not just some random cooking of some random dish.” Following the advice given to the participants to listen closely to whatever is being said; Handa told us how he bagged a position in the top 12 contestants in the show. “We were given a turnip cabbage and fresh oranges to make a dish. Someone said that we could also use the leaves of the cabbage. I listened to that and since we didn’t have much to work with, I used the long leaves to make sushi like rolls and served it that way. This gained me direct entry to the top 12 while skipping five other rounds.”
Handa loves the fusion of foods and creating new recipes. Experimentation with foods is something that drives on the passion he has for cooking. “Jamun is a fruit which is not very famous in Mumbai and the fruit just keeps on falling from the trees. This got me thinking and I decided to make a Jamun cheesecake. The result was quite satisfactory.” Having his own restaurant, Macciatto and serving Italian cuisine has given Handa the opportunity to display his fusion recipes to his customers, some of which are also his fans.
His opinion on the reality shows featuring cooking is very positive and encouraging, “It gives fresh talent a platform to nurture his own abilities at the same time gives them an opportunity to do something about that talent. I was just a local Delhi boy who was given a huge opportunity by MasterChef to do something with my talent and that is what I have done. It is a platform which requires a lot of hard work but the outcome surpasses everything.”
From the looks of it, the guy has a long way to go and many more interesting dishes to whip up.