Gaurav Khanna on winning Celebrity MasterChef: I will always be the first celebrity MasterChef, and firsts are cherished
Gaurav Khanna shares his passion for cooking started when he moved to Mumbai; living alone meant he had to sustain himself
Actor Gaurav Khanna has become the first to win the Celebrity MasterChef cooking show. From being a TV actor to now a chef and a winner, he tells us about his journey, experience and future plans in a conversation.
When asked about his interest in cooking and his passion for it, he says that it was a necessity when he came to Mumbai for the first time as he lived alone and had to cook to sustain himself. “Ever since then, I became interested in cooking. I used to go online and see recipes I could whip up at home, and occasionally, I used to cook. It was around the pandemic when I got into it, when we were all stuck inside for a while,” he recalls, adding, “I never thought I would make it to a cooking show, but I remember we had gotten around 15-20 days of training about how fine dining food is made, the techniques, and that is when my passion sparked. I realised there is so much more to cooking than what I knew earlier. There was always a desire to make a better dish than last time.”
Talking about his inspiration, he tells us that it was his mother, whom he used to see in the kitchen cooking while growing up. “At times, when you go and help your mum in the kitchen, I think that is when it started for me,” he adds. His favourite dishes earlier used to be yellow daal, jeera aloo and chapati. “This is something I can still have all the time,” he further notes.
The competition was not without challenges, and there were times when Gaurav faced difficulties being a vegetarian, and he had to cook non-vegetarian food because it was part of the show. “I could not taste what I cooked, and that used to be a great challenge. However, the biggest one was when I had to replicate different colours in a dish. Being colourblind, I could not grasp what colour was which, so that used to be a hindrance at times. However, I never took it as an excuse, and I always tried to find my way around it and see what I could do,” he remembers.
When it comes to following strategies to win the competition, his rule is simple: “Always be yourself.” He tried not to focus on things that were not required but rather focus on the work he was doing at the moment. “There was only me who could've done better than my previous task. That I could've only done by applying 100% of my thoughts and attention to it. With undivided attention, everything could've failed,” he remarks, adding, “Now that is my personality overall, which also worked as a strategy. And talking about being focused, I think I am a naturally focused person; it is in my DNA. Whatever I do, I do it with utmost focus. I might come off as a carefree person, but I like preparing, I like doing my homework, and I like putting my best foot forward, and somewhere it does help you in the long run.”
Now, every chef is known for a signature dish they have prepared, and it becomes their mark. For Gaurav, it is still too early as he has been cooking for over 3 months only. “However, I enjoyed making desserts. It gave me more area to showcase my artistic talent, and I was known for it. Some of my favourite dishes on the show also became the top dishes, so I think I am fine with anything. I like what I do, and if people like what I do, that's even better,” he shares.
Looking back as to how he became part of the show, he recalls that initially he thought he was being called to host the show. “I never thought I'd be called to be a contestant in the show. After I learned I was going to be a contestant, I gave in because I always wanted to do something different. I was coming out of another show, and I wanted to do something outside that character, something for myself, something for Gaurav rather than anyone else,” he shares. He always wished to do something out of the box and something challenging. “While being on the show, I started enjoying the whole process of cooking. I discovered that it was a new skillset which I had unlocked,” he adds.
After winning the show, the tag is going to stick with him forever. “No one can take that away. I will always be the first celebrity MasterChef in India, and firsts are always cherished,” he says. Post-winning, he misses all the hustle-bustle of the kitchen, discussing dishes, which is suddenly gone now. “I really do not know what is going to happen in the future, but I will keep giving my 100% to whatever I do," he adds.
