Just the right spice

Mona

Cooking is all about connecting, believes celeb chef Ranveer Brar; connecting with those who serve, those you cook with or where you get your supplies from. Courtesy social media, this chef’s making his recipes reach homes and enjoying a huge fan-following.

Two decades plus into the profession, this MasterChef India judge is happy living his dream and working towards more.

The inspiration

Charlie Trotter is one name that made this ‘chef at heart, chef by soul’ pursue his passion with all dedication. “He was the first one to make it big in the kitchen and in entrepreneurship, bringing about many like me on his path,” opens up this chef.

Once decided, he wouldn’t label the small road-bumps in his journey as ‘challenges’ but ‘situations’ that he made the most of. “When I began learning in Lucknow, it was the time of ‘potli’ masalas and not many were open to sharing their secrets,” shares Ranveer, whose ability to ‘connect’ got his predecessors part with secret recipes. That was just the beginning. The fresh kid-on-the-block from Lucknow was next sent to Goa to set up a seafood restaurant. “The saving grace was that I was given eight days to set it up.” So this young lad headed to sea — trailers, fishing, “I made a relationship with fish and it paid.”

Sea change

Over the years, he has seen kitchen go through a sea change. Cooking for 23 years, 21 of them professionally, nothing’s been the same. Change all for good? “Largely. Information is accessible, huge capital investments made. If only one could incorporate farmers in the country into the system; it will be a great help to them.”

There is also something that he misses from earlier days. “I miss the hard work. Earlier one would experiment; out of 10 dishes, one would make it to the menu. One had to cook more. With time, hours of hard work have given way to instant online solutions.”

Up next

Currently working on a documentary on the history of Indian food, he will soon come out with a book too. Films on mind? “Never say never is my mantra,” says Ranveer, who counts Julie & Julia, No Reservations and Ratatouille among his favourite movies. Is his world still male-dominated a la Julie & Julia? “That’s a myth we have created.”

While traditionally khansamas have been male, women are taking steps and all in the right direction, believes this celeb chef whose core team has seven members — all of them girls!

mona@tribunemail.com