BENGALURU: Fans of MasterChef Australia need no introductions to Sashi Cheliah. He was the winner of the tenth season and has been a crowd-favourite even when he returned for the latest season with fans v/s favourites. And now, he is finally in Bengaluru to present a seven-course meal at The Leela Palace, in association with The World On A Plate. Let’s say, the tickets sold out like hot cakes with over 70 attendees on each of the two days. “Bengaluru has a great food crowd.
Out of the menus that I had sent across to the other Leela Hotels in the country, Bengaluru was the only one brave enough to keep Ais Kacang (made of evaporated milk granita, palm sugar, caramel, rose syrup mousse, red bean crumb and lime gel); others went with a Panna Cotta,” he laughs.
The Singaporean-born Australian chef has had great fun working with the kitchen staff here. He says, “I run a small kitchen back home... but it can take in good volume. The hotel here is much bigger and so is the space. So working here meant they were unfamiliar with my cuisine and I with their kitchen. It’s when the idea and vision of both of ours came together that we were able to put up the plates we did.” On his visit to Bengaluru this time, he relished the dishes at Nagarjuna, Salt Indian Restaurant Bar & Grill, and Araku Coffee. “I first visited Bengaluru during the India tour after winning the competition.
We stayed at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway and the kitchen staff prepared food using my favourite ingredients which they learnt about through interviews of mine,” he recalls. Travelling to Delhi and Gurugram for the event in the next couple of weeks, Cheliah is thrilled about opening his new restaurant called ‘Pandan Club’ in Chennai. After winning the show in 2018, he opened his first restaurant ‘Gaja’ in his home town Adelaide, Australia.
“There was always a plan to open my restaurant overseas. Though we were working on it before the pandemic, it is now finally falling in place and we are ready to launch on August 15,” he tells CE. He is introducing Peranakan cuisine at the restaurant. The Peranakans are Chinese who adopted Malay culture, so there is a strong Malaysian influence in the cooking. “Chennai is a great place for authentic food but there aren’t too many options for modern cuisine.
I feel I can capitalise on it and build from there,” he adds. So when Cheliah isn’t praised for being the chef that he is, what is his personality like? He says laughing, “I’m a simple man who doesn’t have too many expectations. But I love the adrenaline rush when I have to work in a fast-paced environment. I love watching Marvel movies and I’m a huge fan of Kamal Haasan.”