At an age when most children spend their time playing video games and watching their favourite television shows, these little ones indulged in extraordinary things. Nihal Raj a.k.a Kicha,7, Jehan Razdan a.k.a. Baby Jehan,4 and Ishaan Tharayil,6, are busy dishing out recipes with the help of their parents. These Malayali children, who have a good fan following online, are not afraid of the nuances of cooking. They learn about the dish, wear the apron, prepare the food, and present it before the camera when it starts to roll. And, it seems, their innocence keeps the viewers hooked.
Kochi-based Kicha, who has the YouTube channel Kicha Tube, shot to fame when Facebook approached him for the rights of his recipe ‘Mickey Mouse Mango Ice Cream’. He was later featured on the popular Ellen DeGeneres show, where he prepared Puttu with the ease of a chef. Everyone was amazed by the boy’s skill. Ellen even told Kicha the Puttu was “awesome”.
“My mother is a home-baker. I used to watch her bake and help her. One day I thought ‘why not make a YouTube cooking channel?’ Thus began Kicha Tube. I suggested the name,” he adds. He got the idea of starting a YouTube channel from those ‘unboxing toys’ videos available online. His mother Ruby helps him with recipes, while his father Rajagopal and sister supply the required ingredients and shoot the video. Ask Nihal about his favourite food, he says, “Cookies! I have just made Cherry Cream Cheese Cookies.”
The Class 2 student wants to be an astronaut chef in future. “Many years later, there wouldn’t be much space on earth for people to live. Then, they will go to Mars or the moon. Then, I will be their chef in space,” he says, adding, “I wanted to be an astronaut. Now, I have become a chef. So, I mixed both my interests.” His father Rajagopal is happy he could find his son’s talent and nurture it. He is not worried about his son’s future. He is sure Nihal will find his way.
Like Nihal, Jehan also took her baby steps into cooking after observing her chef mother Jumanah Kadri. A native of Wayanad and currently settled in Abu Dhabi, where her father Razdan works, she hosts the cookery show Jehan’s Kitchen on Flowers International Channel every Friday, along with her mother. She is quick-witted and sometimes puts her mother in dilemma with naughty questions. She is more into theme-based cooking and has recently done a baking session with ‘Frozen’ as the theme.
“We found her talent in cooking when she joined school. There they have activities and Jehan was interested in cooking,” says Jumanah, adding, “She is now four years old. She loves to make creative dishes. She even suggests ideas. She proposed the ‘Frozen’ theme. The latest episode had summer popsicles in natural colours.” For Ishaan, son of Ganga Prasad and Jeni, baking is his forte. Like the other kids, he too learnt it from his mother, a baker. They are settled in Australia. “It began on his fourth birthday. He told me he would help me bake his birthday cake. Then, one day he asked me to make a recipe for gems cookies. I uploaded the video on Facebook. The response was good and later, we started the channel Ishaan’s Kitchen,” says Jeni.
He won the second prize in the International Cake Show of Australia held at Brisbane. “He participated in the age group of 5 to 18 years,” adds Jeni. Like other parents, she also believes the exposure enhances her child’s personality. “I don’t know whether he will continue cooking. But I am sure that it will help him in life,” says Jeni. Jamanah adds, “Indulging in cooking has developed Jehan’s food sense.” And, Rajagopal concurs. “It has developed his taste buds. Kicha is now able to detect the quality of a food.” Above all, these parents make sure their children are safe in the kitchen. They make child-friendly recipes and guide them if fire and knife are involved in the making.
