As soon as she entered the sixth season of MasterChef India, Natasha Gandhi became an instant favourite. She loved giving a modern, contemporary twist to her recipes, and aced most tasks whether as an Individual or in a group. A personal favourite would be her task with Smrutisree Singh, where both of them had to prepare a strikingly similar dish by just following each other’s instructions from across a wall! Natasha Gandhi was among the top 5 finalists of the season, and post that, life has taken a “360 degree turn”, for the young chef, who was once preparing to be a CA. She is now a successful chef and an entreprenuer. She is the founder & owner of House of Millets. She was at Novotel Mumbai Juhu beach recently for an Australian BBQ event, where we caught up with her for a candid chat.
Speaking about the event chef Jerson Fernandes, Executive Chef at Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach says, “Working alongside MasterChef Australia 2019 contestant Chef Sandeep Pandit and MasterChef India 2019 Season 6 contestant Chef Natasha Gandhi has been enriching for our entire team. The idea of the Australian-themed BBQ by the Beach was to create a sundowner BBQ evening at our beach-facing outdoor venue with an Australian twist and delicacies. The vibe during the event was very positive, with the live music and sea breeze adding to the ambience."
Some excerpts from our chat with Chef Natasha:
What brings you to Novotel Mumbai Juhu beach, can you talk to us about the event?
So, cooking along with stalwarts like Chef Sandeep Pandit who I’ve seen at MasterChef Australia and also Chef Jerson Fernandes whom I look up to is an absolute honour and I couldn’t say ‘no’ to this opportunity and that to at Novotel Juhu. So, there is an event organised which is an Australian Barbeque sundown event which is hosted by the three of us and that is what brings me to Novotel Juhu and I’m extremely excited and honoured to be given this opportunity.
When did you start cooking and what inspired you to choose this field?
So, I started cooking when I was, I think really small, I was this one kid who would watch cooking shows instead of watching Cartoon Network or Disney Channel. And I remember watching Nigella Lawson cook, and I remember watching Ranveer Brar, Vicky Ratnani and he had this show called ‘Vicky Goes Veg’, and Aditya Bal’s ‘Chakh Le India’. And I had this book where I would like note down on recipes and you know sit at the kitchen counter, because obviously I couldn’t reach the counter. Then what I made was something from Nigella Lawson’s TV show, and I think that is what got me into cooking. When I started studying etc, I realized that cooking was very therapeutic for me and I would.. after a very busy day, I would just enjoy cooking and found my peace in it. And, that’s when I realized...I really loved cooking.
Did you always dream of being a Chef, what was your ‘Plan B’?
(chuckles) So, being a chef was actually plan B. Plan A in my life was to actually become CA, I was studying to become Chartered Accountant. You know when you score 90% in Xth standard, your parents expect that you take commerce and do something worthwhile. And you are too young to protest etc. Therefore, I agreed to it and gave it a shot. But after five felt attempts at CA entrance exam I cleared the CPT and IPCC but I finally realised this is not what I wanted to do and this is not where my passion is and therefore, I lost interest. And then I said to myself, ‘okay fine, I don’t have to do this, I have to do what I really love’. Then I started working on building 'House of Millets' and then MasterChef happened and now here we are. And actually, being a Chef was always plan A in my mind but after my plan B (CA) didn’t work, I had to go back to my plan A, so it was a reverse for me in life.
How did life change after you entered MasterChef India?
So, life has changed 360 degrees completely after I entered MasterChef India, the amount of love that I have got from the audience I cannot express and I’m super grateful for that. Throughout the season I maintained that I’m somebody who uses millets who does healthier cooking and that is what also people resonated with me even after I left the show and I stuck to the niche. So, currently it has really helped me build an audience and leverage my businesses and also it has given me a platform. If I had done it from the scratch, it would have taken me years and years but because of MasterChef India, it has definitely pushed me forward. And also because of all the challenges that we have faced in the show, it has helped me in my life. And today I’m at a position where I can take any challenge or any work in any pressure environment; I’m confident that I can face it and be the strong person in the kitchen. MasterChef has really helped me shape the person and the Chef that I’m today.
Do you often cook for your family and are the expectations at home high?
So, I’ve been cooking a lot for them and mainly what I do is experiment on them. And most of the time they are scared of my cooking, cause sometimes my experiments go haywire. They are like my guinea pigs. They always think that I’ve cooked something strange and are petrified by the thought of what they have to taste. Majority of the time the dishes turn out great, but there is always this one odd dish, which they would question like ‘what is this?’
If I cook regular food like, I make amazing Dal Makhani, I make Butter chicken really nicely, and I do all this Thai, Chinese, Italian food really nicely. So, the thing is if they have already tried and loved the dish that I had already made for them, then they would be extremely happy that I’m cooking for them. But if there is something new then they are quite petrified. (giggles)
Can you share one of your fondest memories associated with food?
One of my fondest memories associated with food, actually there is too many of them but this is one I vividly remember when I first made something and that is Nigella’s chocolate lava cake and I also made a chocolate mousse. I did two desserts the same day and I remember that I didn’t have ceramic mould to demould the lava cake. So, I used steel katori. Also, I didn’t have oven so I made the entire thing in pressure cooker. And this was me when I was like ten-eleven years old. The chocolate mousse was also quite similar I let it set in the refrigerator. And my parents were like, that, yeah, she is doing something and let her do whatever she is doing.
When both of the desserts were set, I tasted them and they were too good that I ended up finishing them alone. So, whenever someone asked about the taste of those desserts, no one could really answer as I finished them all by myself.
I was the happiest kid who was really proud of herself, that time I was like, wow this recipe is so nice and I’m the best. I guess this is my fondest memory and how my love for cooking started from there.
What is your comfort food?
My comfort food is definitely matar-chawal with dahi, it’s my absolute favourite with some slices of onion on the side. Some days it is aloo parantha which my mom makes and not any other aloo paratha. she makes it in a different way that I haven’t eaten elsewhere. These two have to be my comfort food.
A celebrity you would love to cook for?
I would love, love, love to cook for Nigella Lawson and also for Virat Kohli. I’m a huge cricket fan and I love all cricketers. But I know Virat Kohli has recently gone vegan and he is somebody who is into health and fitness and I make that kind of food and I want people to know that healthy food can be tasty. So, I think he is the one person who would really appreciate the healthy food I do and that’s the reason. And Nigella Lawson, obviously cause I’ve grown up while watching her. Of course, there are Chef like Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna but you know they have already eaten my food in MasterChef India, which I’m absolutely thrilled about.
Your one favourite kitchen tool?
I don’t think one can have only one favourite kitchen tool. There are too many of them but I think for me is the one that I bought recently that is the Serrated knife. I simply can’t do anything without it and need it almost everywhere with me especially during baking. There is also this kansa pan which is a bronze pan that I have. You don’t get bronze utensils easily so there is this bronze pan, bronze uruli, clay kadhai and anything that has to do with traditional cooking like back to the roots vibe. And anything related to it has to be my favourite.
A food trend that really got you excited?
I’m somebody who really don’t believe in following trends and also somebody who doesn’t put pressure on herself to create trends, I do things I love to do. But if you ask me one thing that I would love to see trending is the use of millets. I would love to see millets trend and people start using millets not only because of their nutritional or health benefits, but also because they are the way to sustainable farming, sustainable living and feeding the nation. And this is one trend that I would love to see. It’s slowly happening, people are using them but there needs to be more.
Your pet peeve when you are dining out?
Especially during these times I’ve realized my pet peeve is not having the menu cards to hold. Like some restaurants will be like scan the QR code and you would have the menu on your phone. I don’t get the feel, I need a physical menu to turn through the pages. Hopefully everything gets better and gets back to normal and we have the physical menu card back.
