A drive to showcase ultra luxury car brands would be the last place to spot a celebrity chef in action but TV Show host, judge and food stylist Ranveer Brar seemed to be in his element, rustling up various delicacies at the Luxe Drive event held in Kochi. His fame as the celebrity judge of the hugely prominent MasterChef had his Kerala fans approaching the good-looking and very stylish chef for selfies.
It’s little wonder that Ranveer gravitated towards food considering that he has roots in Lucknow famous for kebabs, biriyanis and other delicacies. The rich and varied food he was exposed to since childhood made him realise that cooking went beyond the confines of a household chore. He says, “Lucknow takes so much pride in its food and the way people talk about food is completely different and reverent. I thought I could take up cooking as a viable profession and that passion started growing in me and by the time I was 16, I knew this was what I wanted in life!”
From there began a journey to prove to his parents, relatives and society at large that cooking was a profession that paid dividends. He continues, “I worked with street vendors for the experience and then finished college and became an Executive Chef when I was 25. I opened my own hotel and restaurants and moved to Delhi for that and at 27, I had my own restaurant in the US.” Right now Ranveer is associated with 17 odd hotels.
Three years ago, he returned from the US because of his father’s ill-health; that was when television happened. Speaking about MasterChef, Ranveer opines, “It gave me fame and also growth in terms of a platform to actually understand the Indian home cooking — that was the bigger takeaway I had. Most of the time, I am at hotels and eat out forgetting that our homes are big reservoirs of culinary reinforcements. I am also amazed at the seriousness with which people take their food as also those who prepare it. This profession has become very ‘hot’.”
At the event, Ranveer churned out a cooked watermelon recipe and also the famed Karimeen polichathu with a Thai twist to it and pazhamporis. Also in the oven was a chocolate risotto with chocolates and strawberries. He announces, “There is so much diversity from the Mappila cuisine to the Syrian Christian to Namboothiri food in Kerala cuisine. It is the most amazing diversity one small state in terms of area can have. Personally, I am obsessed with the toddy shop food here. I love the sadya and totally relish what is served on the plantain leaf.”
Though he has travelled the world and dined at the finest restaurants and cooked up multi cuisine culinary storms, it is Lucknowi food that is close to his heart. His favourite food is the humble kichidi with lots of ghee and achar on the side. He quips, “The simpler the food, the better! Our palate needs a break and when I get a chance, I go back to eating simple food.”
Before signing off, he reveals, “I want to open a culinary school in Kerala.”
