From Khana Khazana to Masterchef India, he is the most celebrated face of Indain cuisine. Sanjeev Kapoor is a chef, host, restaurant consultant and his presence is felt in most Indian kitchens – through more than 150 cook books that he has authored. Regarded as the chef who took Indian cusine to the world, recently launched another book ‘Sanjeev Kapoor-Top Chef Top Recipe’. On the sidelines of the launch, City Express caught up with the chef for a candid chat.
The star chef calls his food “food that is sometimes refined and sometimes just homely comfort food.” Explaining more about his philosophy he says, “When you talk about homely comfort it is something people have to relate to. So, when people are looking at the recipes either in the book or on the television shows, they have to relate to them. They have to understand that when people are looking at my recipe they have to succeed too. So, I ensure that success to my readers.”
Cooking maybe synonmous with Sanjeev, few know that the hands that make mouth watering dishes can also play musical instruments and the chef also calls himself a singer! “Very few people know that I am very fond of music. I sing, I play instruments and I compose as well. I do everything starting from composing the song, writing the lyrics, singing the song and playing the instrument.” What’s more is that the chef will soon show his singing talent on the event of the Masterchef finale. “We are going to sing a live song in the finale,” he reveals.
As much he loves cooking and eating, Sanjeev didn’t always love his veggies. “As a kid I used to hate bitter gourd, bottle gourd and ridged gourd. But, once you are in this field you start respecting all vegetables and you discover unique ways to make them tastier,” he says.