Women creating wonders in the kitchen is old news. Now-a-days, men are coming up to speed. IT professional Bijesh KV proved this when he won the first ever Prestige Home Chef 2019 competition which had a masterchef like concept. While he won the competition, Fahima Zahid and Manas Ranjan Raut bagged the first and second runners-up respectively. Talking to Bijesh, we find out more about his love for cooking, competition and his winning dish.
Like every other chef, his interest in cooking began by helping his mother around the kitchen. “I have been trying my luck in the kitchen ever since school, watching my mom. Being a hardcore non-vegetarian, I would normally end up making either Kerala style fish curry or fish fry for the family during meals,” Bijesh adds, saying that cooking is a great stressbuster. Though, these days he cooks only on weekends due to his corporate job. On what pushed him to be a part of this competition, he shares, “It was my wife who urged me. I was hesitant as this was something that I had never done before. The cooking I did till now was only for family and friends.” This competition had over 250 people auditioning out of which 50 were selected and only seven went on to the finals.
On the selection process, Bijesh adds, “We were asked to upload a picture of a dish we made with the recipe, measurements and procedure. We then had to go through a mystery box challenge where we had to work with atleast four out of six ingredients.” For his finale dish, Bijesh had to use an automatic rice cooker and make a main course as well as dessert. He shares, “I made Kiwi-infused and spiced rice with orange chicken with a dash of honey on the side. For dessert, I made a mud cake that was infused by Indian spices.”
Judging the competition were two well known chefs — Chef Abhijit Saha and Masterchef runner-up Shazia Khan alongside Chef Selvaraju, executive chef of a five star. While Bijesh loves experimenting with cuisines, he adds, “When cooking, I try to ensure that my base is Indian and the fusion element is international.” Apart from cooking, Bijesh is also a singer and musician in his own band.
