KOCHI: When one-year-old Saanvi M Prajit ditched her toy kitchen set for real ones and mimicked the way tea, dosa and other dishes were made, her parents didn’t think about it too much. However, what they didn’t know was that it was just the start of something big. Now at the age of 10, Saanvi, who hails from Ernakulam, has created an Asian record.
“I think cooking is in her genes,” said her mother Manjma Prajit, who is a native of Kannur. “We are a family of foodies. Also, since her father Wing Commander Prajit Babu is with the Air Force, there has always been parties with tables laden with various types of food. Saanvi has been around all these and it is not very surprising that it piqued her interest,” said Manjma.
According to her, Saanvi began cooking at a very early age. “Once she cooked ada payasam for a cookery show. It was very good. However, since she couldn’t cook on a stove at that time, she couldn’t go to the next level,” said Manjma. When she was six, she began accompanying her mother to a reality cookery show. “My husband was stationed at Pathankot at that time and I couldn’t leave Saanvi at home all alone. So, I used to take her along to the cookery show.
She used to be there on the floor watching and giving me tips,” said Manjma. Saanvi’s culinary skills became apparent when she started to cook up a storm and even challenged her grandmother over the style of cooking during the lockdown period.
“So, I thought about starting a YouTube channel where she could showcase her attempts at cooking simple and tasty dishes,” said Saanvi’s mother who then came across the possibility of creating a record. “I contacted the Asian Book of Records.
They said there is a category for children in cooking and the minimum number of dishes is 18. Anything beyond that would be considered a record,” said Manjma. So, Saanvi began preparing for the record by practising every day. “She had never cooked on the stove. So, we were worried that the entire experience might overwhelm her. However, everything went smoothly and Saanvi cooked 33 dishes in one hour,” she said.