A desperate attempt to be different can lead to ‘food horror’ as opposed to ‘foodgasm’: Chef Amrita Raichand

In an exclusive interaction with indianexpress.com, Amrita Raichand talks about her journey, her love for cooking, the role the pandemic played in giving “life to the dormant culinary expertise vein” in many people, Indian cuisine, and much more. Read the edited excerpts below:

From an actor to a chef, tell us about your journey

My journey, to say the least, has been one that has never really been strategically planned; destiny has carved its own way and, thankfully, in the right direction. Whether it was modeling and being the face of countless brands or acting in movies and TV, I kept taking up everything that was being placed in my lap, albeit in roles that were approved by my family.

But when Agastya (my son) was born, I decided to take a sabbatical from work for about two years as I did not want to miss out on a single moment with him. During that period, as I was weaning him off of breast milk, I started experimenting with a lot of recipes for him, keeping taste and health as the two main criteria while planning the same. Being someone for whom nutrition has been of utmost importance, besides being a foodie, sometimes it gets challenging to balance out the two. I realised the dilemma of most mothers while dealing with my own son, hence started putting in a lot of thought while curating meals for him. As luck would have it, or maybe God realised that this was the need of the hour for mums and kids alike, I landed my first cooking TV show — ‘Mummy Ka Magic.’ For the first time, I felt like this was a natural extension of my personality and my love for cooking healthy, delicious food for children. I got to be me and I connected with mums as I would address issues I faced with my son while feeding him and explained in detail how to overcome those with my experience. That, I guess, struck a wonderful chord with my audience and led to an overwhelming response. That’s when I realised, cooking, sharing my recipes, and learning with the world were my true calling!

Hence, I decided to pursue cooking as a profession and undertook an advanced culinary course in Singapore to understand the nuances better. I came back and worked in a 5-star hotel in Mumbai to hone my skills further. As social media started booming around the same time, besides my shows on TV, I took to my social media platforms and began curating existing content. This got me a lot more audience and a varied one at that. The constant love and encouragement that I’ve received from the world over, has truly been a very exciting and fruitful journey so far and I’m extremely thankful to God for holding my hand and guiding me through this path with all humility and honesty.

Did you always enjoy cooking, or is it an interest you developed over the years?

To be honest, I have really enjoyed cooking all my life. In fact, I cooked my first entire meal at age eight. I was predisposed to the art of cooking because my mother was a dexterous cook and a well-known face in Jamdeshpur (my birth place, and my late father’s ‘karma bhoomi’). Hence my passion for cooking and the required skills came organically and genetically to me. Having said that, I never really thought of cooking as a profession in my growing up years. Additionally, back in the day, cooking wasn’t really considered as a dedicated career option unless one was part of a restaurant or a food chain. I was always averse to the idea of an automated job where I didn’t have the flexibility to be as creative as I would like to be and was bound by timings and other boundaries. With time and the circumstances that surrounded me, I realised the possibility of becoming a celebrated chef from the comforts of my home and surrounded by my family. That is when I embraced cooking and the food industry with open arms. Needless to say, it has been my best decision so far.

The Indian culinary scene is brimming with many chefs, a majority of whom are on social media — how do you ensure you stand out among the crowd?

There are many chefs who, in the recent past, have been positively stirring up the food space in India. Many have given life to the dormant culinary expertise vein in their right brain and have become explorers in their kitchens, thanks to the pandemic. Along with others, I even dabbled and experimented with many exciting properties, and the one that stood out the most was my live cooking session ‘Mere Ghar Ka Khana’ every Friday to help my audience prepare everyday meals during COVID. What started out as a necessity to help people make basic meals has now become a dedicated and a very loved property on my social media platform.

Talking about making an effort to stand out, well that’s never been my goal. This industry is too big and there’s room for everyone. Every chef and their content is exclusive to them as each one of us has our own language of food. I have never really followed a fixed mantra while planning my recipes or content on social media. By default, things that I stand for — health, nutrition, fitness and being able to teach the basic nuances of cooking; breaking it down to the simplest possible formula, so that, even somebody who is an absolute novice to the kitchen is able to embrace my recipes — automatically comes across through my content. I guess I am lucky that people resonate with my attitude, verbiage, and techniques. Also, food is an expression of love, so if you’re honest with yourself and your food, people will embrace it.

As such, what is your take on home chefs and the various food trends that pop up on social media? 

The one good offshoot of the pandemic has been the rise of so many home chefs from various corners of the country who are now shaking up the food industry. Everyone has been putting in a lot of time and effort to dish out something interesting. Chefs are being experimental and fearless, which is almost always a great occurrence.

However, a very desperate attempt to be different can definitely lead to some ‘food horror’ as opposed to ‘foodgasm’ (a very popular term now) . Unique, interesting renditions are good till they cross a line. If the basic essence of a recipe gets tampered to an unacceptable extent, it only confuses the palate! And one thing that food is not supposed to be, is complicated. When I look back at my body of work, I feel that the main reason why ‘Mummy ka magic’ and ‘Mere ghar ka khana’ struck a chord with my audiences, is because through both the shows, I was helping them create delectable, well-presented and healthy food all packaged in a box of simplicity.

You will be donning the judge’s hat for Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly – Bakers’ Studio Season 2. How do you plan to approach the show?

Oh, donning the judge’s hat has been very exciting. This is my second season with the brand, and I am extremely thrilled to see the growth not only in terms of the concept, but also the talent and enthusiasm of the participants. Being India’s first-ever televised baking reality show, it is a premier baking competition that offers India’s baking community an opportunity to showcase their talent in front of a global audience. What is most special is that it is not just individuals but their family members who get to participate and compete, too. The confidence, variety and finesse they bring to the table and if I may add, without any formal training, is commendable. In terms of participants, I am looking forward to innovation, presentation, neatness and most importantly, speed. Apart from all the innovations that I hope will flow through the entire season, I am keen to observe the different techniques these participants use while baking because unlike cooking, baking needs specific techniques, precision, and speed.

What are the dos and don’ts you swear by when cooking?

I’ll start off with baking first given the fact that baking is a completely different ballgame. With baking, the recipe has to be followed to the tee. The technique that is being applied has to be also approached with precision. Recipe ingredients have to be measured correctly and created with the appropriate equipment. Time is of essence, as is memory. Handling batter/dough properly, temperature control, remembering to preheat the oven, these may seem like insignificant steps, but make a huge difference to the final texture and taste of the baked goods. So it’s really important to go about baking in a systematic and meticulous way. Another crucial element in baking is the presentation. The final outcome must look stunning and should be presented very neatly. Additionally, I also find that those bakers who are more experimental end up being way more successful.

Cooking, on the other hand, is way more forgiving than baking. You can alter recipes to your liking, and most of the time if you know the basics, you will survive! There are, of course, many nuances of cooking, like, the correct use of heat, salt, moisture, fat, acid, knowledge of how to use spices and other ingredients, how to handle meats and how to cook them correctly, how to ensure that one doesn’t overcook vegetables, how to execute the correct flavour combinations in dishes etc. these are skills, one only learns with practice and experience and that goes a long way in helping a cook present a decent plate on the table.

Your recipes are often easy to recreate. Is it a conscious decision to keep your food simple?

Yes! Absolutely. My aim is to empower people by providing all possible granular details about cooking and baking. Whether or not the recipe is simple, my endeavour is to ensure the technique, ingredients and process is simplified at a level that anyone can easily replicate the same. And that’s why I love doing my live sessions every Friday; it allows me to deep dive into each recipe and take questions from my viewers, which a regular video doesn’t always permit.

What is your opinion of the Indian culinary scene on the global map?

Diversity in India is not limited to culture and language but its topography, the climate, it’s food, cooking techniques and so much more. Every cuisine holds its ground with the unique blend of spices, herbs, and other products that reflects the geographical specialties as well as distinct local preferences. Indian cuisine has always drawn attention from all across the world for its robust flavours, unusual concoction of spices and exquisite flavors. What’s now even more exciting is that regional cuisines are also finding their own place on the global map. People are now fortunately looking beyond butter chicken and dal makhani. The Rajasthani thali, Konkan cuisine, Bengali delicacies etc. are now gaining popularity and experimented globally.

One chef you really look up to and why?

I actually didn’t have to look very far because, as I mentioned earlier, my mother was the best cook that I have known in my entire life. Whatever I have learnt till date, I have picked up from her and I guess she blessed me with her genes. Besides my mom, I really like Gordon Ramsay. I find his content very precise yet comprehensive. So, while Indian food always came naturally to me, in my initial ‘pre-chef’ days, I remember looking up his videos on YouTube once in a while when I would attempt an exciting international cuisine for the family.

What role do reality shows play in honing the skills of young cooks/upcoming talent.

Food-based reality shows have caught the imagination of many aspiring, young chefs recently and are providing a great opportunity to showcase your talent. The visibility that they get, coupled with the right mentoring will definitely help in boosting their confidence and allow them to hone their skills in baking further. Additionally, such shows also give budding chefs and viewers hope, inspiration and relevant guidance to pursue their passion of baking and cooking.

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