Serving PM Modi was a matter of honour: Sanjeev Kapoor

PLANO (Texas): Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is one of the most recognized faces of Indian television, and has a massive fan following across all age groups. Recipient of ‘Best Chef of India’ award by government, Kapoor recently represented India in the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) in South Korea and introduced them to ancient Indian ayurvedic cooking.He was the Indian ambassador for UN’s Clean Cook Stoves campaign aimed at underprivileged people living in developing countries. Kapoor, who also represented India as a food ambassador in Spain under the Spanish government’s Indian Future Leaders Programme (IFLP), recently spoke to this citizen journalist on the phone about his culinary journey so far.
1. When was the first time you cooked?
As a kid, when I used to help my mother in the kitchen!
2. What was your inspiration to take up the profession of a chef?
The ‘foodie’ family that I belong to! My mother was and still is the best cook for me. My late father was very good too, to date when I come across unusual and clever pairings of ingredients, I think back to the days when my father had done the same! My elder brother also used to cook in his spare time. So you can say inspiration was all around me!
3. What do you think is the most important part of serving food? Is it presentation, healthy choices or taste?
Most important part of serving is a smile. If food is served with a smile, nothing else matters. Tasty food at right temperature and good presentation is a given.
4. Which US-oriented projects are you working on?
My food products, books and TV channel ‘FoodFood’ are already in USA and there are some more exciting things in the pipeline.
5. What kind of chefs get the privilege of working with you?
My team comprises of qualified freshers, experienced as well as home chefs. Basically anyone with a real passion for food and cooking can work with me!
6. Which was your most embarrassing/tricky moment as a chef and how did you handle it?
Yet to experience!
7. What kind of diet do you encourage – vegetarian or non- vegetarian?
I leave it to an individual’s wisdom and choice. I never preach. As a chef I respect everybody’s food choice.
8. We Indians mostly eat heavy food…are you thinking of opening health-food restaurants based on calorie count?
In all my restaurants, there are healthy options available. I have no plans to open a specific restaurant based on healthy options because there is no need and people can opt for choices from the regular menu.
9. How can common people eat nutritious food?
Fortunately, for human kind, everything essential for life is still given free by God. Imagine if oxygen had to come in pipeline to our homes? So, God has already taken care of poor people. They just need to know what is right for them and to me it is not about intake of nutritious food only, it is more to do with what all wrong things they should not be consuming. They harm themselves in a willful and deliberate manner. Having said that, all the coarse grains, seasonal vegetables, milk, etc. are available to them and if guided properly, having nutritious meal at low costs is not a challenge. Look at what our ancestors ate thousands of years ago in different regions and seasons. We just need to go back in those days. According to me, we were more evolved then!
10. Please describe your experience of serving PM Modi?
Of course, it was a matter of great honour for me to have been chosen to serve our beloved Prime Minister. Cooking for PM Modi absolutely took the cake! And for the preparations – I called up the chef at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to find out what the PM likes to eat on his visits. I got to know that PM Modi likes his bajra roti and khichdi. In short, home style Gujarati food. So, I went about creating a multi-course vegetarian menu for the dinner which had methi fafdas, coconut khandvis, tandoor shaak and of course, the PM’s favourites – bajra roti and khichdi. Dessert had a stunning ‘100 Karat Gold Amarkhand with Platinum Pebbles and fresh fruits.’ The PM also appreciated innovative dishes like Gujarati style upma that was a part of the breakfast, next day.
There was also a last-minute panic in the kitchen when I was informed an hour before the dinner that the menu would have to be changed as the PM was fasting for shravan. The atmosphere in the kitchen was tense, but the PM was gracious when he discovered the panic and assured us that he will eat whatever has been cooked for him already!
Besides this, a moment that I’m going to cherish forever is when I had a chat with the PM over breakfast, where he told me about the role of food in assisting Indian tourism.
11. Do you follow Indian politics?
Yes, as a normal citizen of this country, I also follow Indian politics.
12. Who are your favorite Indian politicians?
According to me all politicians, leaving aside some exceptions, who have reached the top of the ladder, prove that they are natural leaders with intelligence and have very good oratory skills. It is not easy. I admire and salute them.