New Delhi: "MasterChef Australia" Season 5 contestant Rishi Desai enjoys being on the reality show as it familiarises him with diverse cuisine and the best part is that every one gets equal treatment on it.
As many as 22 contestants from countries like the UK, Indonesia, Australia and India are participating in the show to exhibit their culinary skills.
"They treat everyone the same. It doesn't matter where you are from. We had people from diverse backgrounds on the show. We all learn from each other," Desai told IANS in a telephonic interview.
Desai gives Indian touch to his dishes.
"What I did on the show was to take my Indian flavours and make them modern. I convert them into modern Indian fine dining experience," he said.
Hailing from Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, he attributes his cooking talent to his mom.
"I have been cooking as far as I remember. I learnt to cook while cooking. I saw my mother cooking and I took a lot of learning from there. I also entered one of those cooking challenges when I was 10-11 years old and won the second prize," he said.
"My mother always cooked different things. Everyone in my family liked different things. I loved mutton, my cousin sister did not eat non-vegetarian food. And my mother catered for everyone," he said and added that he was introduced to lots of cuisine early in his life.
What makes "MasterChef" different is its deadline that lead to high pressure.
"Pressure comes with the territory. I learned to absorb the pressure and do what I liked to do on the show," the 35-year-old said.
Desai is now "writing" a cookery book that will have Indian recipes.
"It will be a modern Indian cookbook and will have a modern take on Indian traditional recipes. Also, I have pop up restaurants. A pop up restaurant is when you hire a place and cater for people. It is by invite only," he said.
