A culinary journey - Shazia Khan

I am a big fan of Masterchef (particularly the Australian edition), as I am sure most of you are. My ex-boss knew better than to call me between 9 and 10 pm when Masterchef Australia used to be aired on Star world. I love George, Gary, Matt (Moran and Preston). I've enjoyed the show and more importantly, the masterclasses. I have a dream - to some day be on the sets of this epic show, in Australia, and cover it on this blog.

But the closest I'll come to all of this, will be this weekend - to interact with and learn from the Masterchef India Season 2 Finalist and Runner up - Shazia Khan. I've been part of various culinary workshops and have learnt from every one of them - be it a recipe from scratch or some new tip; so I definitely look forward to this one.

This event - Make me a Masterchef - is conceptualized by my baker friend Maaria Kulsum Tanveer of Adoniya and managed and executed by one of my dearest friends Tasneem Akbari of Konceptz Galore.

A young homemaker and mother of two dreamed a dream. And that dream morphed into a beautiful reality. Shazia Khan is now a known face in Indian households, thanks to Masterchef India. Cooking is the biggest stress buster, says Shazia. I concur. Her greatest inspiration is her late father, her biggest motivation are her two sons and her strength is her husband. Shazia learnt cooking from her mother-in-law who was more than a mentor and guide to her.

Shazia is a member of the board of management, at Delhi Public School Bangalore North. She is part of the family business that runs many educational institutes in Bangalore. Her school also has a wing called ‘Anubhava Shiksha Kendra’ for underprivileged students where Shazia spends valuable time teaching the kids.

One day, she says, she wants to produce a travel + cookery show that'd enable her travel to the ends of the world.

And if you are in Chennai, you sure don't want to miss this workshop, on the 9th of March 2013, at the Radisson Blu, Egmore. It is a day long event, split into 3 parts - Veg - Lunch - Non Veg. For more details check the event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/608229172526020/

Masterclass with Sara Koshy - Desserts Delight

After the huge success of the trial class, the next one was a little long in coming, but when it did, it was absolutely brilliant. Well, what else can you expect if Sara Koshy is teaching you! :-)

This workshop, tag lined - Simple, Easy and Tasty - truly lived up to its expectations.

Sara made a super-complex dessert like Tiramisu seemingly super easy and sinfully tasty. The Old Fashioned English Trifle is healthy yet has all the ingredients of a perfect dessert. And finally, the coconut crepe pancake - sigh - the flavor and aroma of the pandan leaves is just - well - you have to experience it to know it!

All the ingredients are available at Gormei Market. Just drop by to pick up fresh organic produce or ingredients for your baking / cooking, not to forget the fresh organic milk!

It was great meeting some new participants this time and of course the usual banter with the old timers. All in all, a fun and sweet (literally) evening, a perfect way to begin the Diwali weekend!

Some pictures from the workshop.

Masterchef Australia....

...is back and I can't wait for India telecast. It's crazy to be following it on the website, because by the time they telecast here, I would have known the results.

This is by far the best cookery show, there's lots of authentic cooking, judging, drama and even penalizing a contestant for not abiding by the house rules. The judges are calm, encouraging and smiling, and sometimes even help the contestants by providing valuable tips.

George, Gary and Matt set the example for being the best judges I have ever seen on a cookery show. They have not only raised the bar for the contestants every time, they have also raised the bar for every judge.

On the contrary, with due respect to Gordon Ramsey, Masterchef USA is too much drama, highly predictable, and loaded with more cuss words than food. And I'd be wasting precious space here if I even mentioned Masterchef India.















Image courtesy: http://www.theage.com.au/ and http://happygoyummy.wordpress.com/masterchef-australia/