10 Apr When I met Chef Sanjeev Kapoor
Dreams do come true!
When I met Chef Sanjeev Kapoor… I just could not stop myself from sharing this. Yes, I met my all-time favourite chef. Though it has been a few days since this happened, I think this is the best time, only because today is Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Birthday.
I was told by my friend that Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is in town and for me, it was a dream to meet him and I would say that it was ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’. I could not afford to miss it! As soon as I got the news I grabbed my bag and started off to the venue. And, I was highly excited …
Cooking has been a passion for me since childhood. After my mom’s recipes, if I have closely followed any recipe that was of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. Now I will have to rewind back to almost 20+ years. Khana Khazana on Zee TV was one among my most favourite programs that I never used to or wanted to miss. The reason, of course was the presenter. Might be that was the one program that helped me to love cooking a bit more. Even in those days, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor used to give substitutes for some ingredients and that was something that I really liked. The main reason for that was that I live in a very small town of Kerala and during those days, certain ingredients were not available here. The way chef used to give alternatives really inspired me and I used to try out every possible recipe, definitely with the help of my mom. Certain recipes that I learnt from KhanaKhazana have become a staple food for my family like the palak puri or palak chapathi.
I never thought that a day would come, when I could meet my favourite chef. I must thank my dear friend Liju Sumesh, CEO of Paragon Group of Hotels, who gave me a chance to meet Chef Sanjeev Kapoor on his visit to Hotel Paragon, Calicut. I must say that it is one of the most memorable days of my life. There were butterflies in my tummy when I saw him walk inside the room. What an impressive personality! But in a few minutes, all things changed. His friendly nature made me really feel comfortable and I was flying high.
It was an official visit for Chef and it was a real privilege for me to meet him and walk with him as he did his job. I was a silent learner then, learning more about how things were done (obviously, inside the kitchen of the most popular hotel in Calicut) and how artistically it was done. I always believed that “cooking is an art” and I was learning more of the art, directly from the most admired celebrity Chef.
When my son insisted on meeting him literally at the verge of bursting out into tears, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor did spend a few minutes with him, later in the evening, in the midst of his busy schedule. And I must say that my son was stuck by his kindness and loving nature that it took a couple of days to come out of the magical spell.
Thank you Chef Sanjeev Kapoor for all the things that you taught me and thank you Liju for making my dream come true.
And I am compelled to say – Yes… dreams do come true.
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