HYDERABAD: MasterChef Telugu was probably the most awaited reality TV show in the Telugu-speaking States. Showcasing culinary talent on a bigger platform, it has left no stone unturned to get the best out of the contestants who have been striving hard to win the title. But the game is equally tough on the other side of the table — judging is no child’s play.
While chefs Chalapathi Rao, Sanjay Thumma and Mahesh Padala feel honoured to be on the show, they are also finding it pretty tough to choose the best of the best. They look for three things while judging the contestants: alochana (concept), alankara (presentation) and aswadana (taste).
“It has been a fantastic journey. Two to three cameras are used in a movie or cooking show. But here, we have 17-18 cameras and seven-eight working,” says chef Chalapathi. Chef Sanjay, for whom this has been the biggest show he’s done, says, “I have done many shows, but the unique thing about this format is the secrecy they maintain. Even as judges, we do not know until morning what the day’s challenge is going to be. Imagine what the contestants are going through.”
Chef Mahesh Padala speaks about the bond he shares with the contestants and their food. “It’s been 20 years now since I have been tasting food cooked by professional chefs. But, when a home chef cooks, the effort and emotions invested are priceless. The contests are fighting it out with such zeal and passion. I am really happy with the performance of the home cooks. The pressure during the last one hour and not knowing what’s the next challenge, it is tough,” he says.
Chef Sanjay, who is fondly called the Wah Re Wah chef, is known to be fun and jovial. But, he dons a different avatar on the show. “This is a very serious show. In 13-14 weeks, the contestants go through everything that we as chefs go through in a lifetime. The show has brought out the serious chef in me and I am glad about it. There’s no room for jovial Sanjay here,” he says.
The show started off with Telugu cuisine. From palathalikalu to briyani, there have been so many dishes by home cooks, which were brilliant, says chef Mahesh. “The idea of the show is ‘glocal’, which means putting our Telugu food on the global map. For this, we look for a change in presentation and not in authenticity. That is the biggest parameter,” he says.
For instance, chef Chalapati, during a pressure test, had done a jugalbandi dish with chapa pulusu which goes well with both prawns and fish. But he presented it in such way that it had a global appeal. Chef Mahesh is very clear about what it takes to win the MasterChef title. “You got to be excellent in every aspect of the culinary world. When you go to a five-start hotel as an executive chef, you should be able to execute every element of a dish,” he says. For him, a master chef is someone who has the love, emotion, dedication, passion and consistency in their food.