Toppings from the top chef

Renowned chef Sanjeeev Kapoor gets talking about his new cookbook ‘Top Chefs Top Recipes’, his love for cooking and his plans after MasterChef

What went into writing the book?

The author Anil Bhandari has been a mentor to me and many others in our budding years. His knowledge, skills and expertise are all translated into this book – making it special and very credible!

Your new book is titled ‘Top Chefs Top Recipes’. Is the book directed to a niche audience like big chefs, or is it for everybody?

This book, as the name suggests, is a repertoire of recipes from brilliant chefs of the top most restaurants in the country. It is filled with interesting recipes for even amateur chefs to try and savour at home. Indian television has evolved from mere cookery shows targeted at homemakers to having reality shows like MasterChef India.

What do you have to say about this evolution?

This was bound to happen. Earlier, all that people expected out of a food show was credible recipes. Now people want much more than just that– trivia, interesting anecdotes and personal experiences, anything that makes it a good watch and adds to your knowledge of food at the same time.

It is surprising that cookery shows are seeing a lot of participation from males these days. What are your views on this?

I was about 16 when I got into this career. What attracted me to this profession was that no one from my family, neighborhood or friends was into it. It was different, it was not predictable and it wasn’t expected from good students to enter this field. It was mainly this novelty that drew me to the profession.

What are your future plans after MasterChef India?

My journey continues. I am very clear in my mind that I will continue doing what I do as long as I am passionate about it. I jump out of the bed every morning, looking forward to an exciting culinary day and by God’s grace I don’t see this feeling waning. There is a lot going on in terms of work besides MasterChef. That is all I can say at the moment.

Do you have a liking for street food?

I love experimenting with local food wherever I go. So, I try Arabic food whenever I’m in Gulf, Mediterranean food when I’m in Europe, Oriental Food when I’m in South East Asia and fusion everywhere. I can live with a falafel, tabbouleh, pasta, laksa and the likes at equal ease. Food from the land – whether it is off a street cart or a high end restaurant!

By:Tushar Kalawatia