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Chef Kunal Kapur returns as a judge on MasterChef India after a long hiatus. Although he has been associated with the show since 2010, season 5 marked the last time he appeared on the judging panel. Describing his return, Kunal said it feels like a homecoming. “Technically, although I wasn’t judging the last few seasons, I have been a part of the show since its inception. Every season, I have come to the show with some challenge, so I never missed the action. After a hiatus of a few years, I am back on the show with renewed energy.”

‘The paradigm has changed enormously thanks to Masterchef India’

Kunal also spoke about the evolution of the show over the years and its role in changing the way people view the culinary profession. He said, “When we did the first season, people would ask for a recipe and wonder what the big deal was in cooking. Earlier, people were afraid to take part and weren’t sure if this was something they would like to be associated with, but that has changed now. A lot of men who joined the first season were criticized; they were told, aap toh mard hai, mard ka kaam kitchen main thodi na hai. So there has been a wider acceptance that the craft is gender-neutral.”

He added, “The skill levels of the contestants have improved. In 2010, it was difficult to explain what a mousse is, how to prepare internationally acceptable food. This season, people have come from remote cities and are already exposed to good quality food, food and cuisine. The paradigm has changed immensely thanks to Masterchef India. The show started in 2010 and was a turning point in how people perceived food in India. The show also inspired people to become entrepreneurs and obtain In the food business, the country’s food economy accelerated after the fair.”

Chef Kunal Kapur’s journey

In 1997, when Kunal Kapur decided to become a chef, his family supported him despite some initial criticism. However, society imposed certain stigmas on the profession and Kunal had to face the harsh comments that followed. Recalling his journey, the MasterChef India judge said, “When I entered this profession, my grandparents were very skeptical because I come from a family of bankers and they wanted me to be one too. In hindsight, they also insisted that children also know how to work in the kitchen. I come from a family that was uprooted during partition. My grandparents came to Delhi as refugees; They both had to work to raise their four children. Then they realized that everyone had to help. So, in our family it is mandatory that the children know a little about cooking, which really helped me. My father and my uncle also cook wonderfully; The men are seen in the kitchen on their days off.”

Kunal also talked about facing the judgment of his relatives. He added, “While the family had no taboos, close relatives raise an alarm. When I decided to become a chef in 1997, at that time it was considered a job for losers. It was like jiska kuch nahi hoga, woh khaana toh bana hi lega. Coming from that mindset where people thought khaansama banoge, halwaai ka kaam kar rahe ho, they said why did you go to school, Why Did you get that much education if you had to do this? That was the mentality of most people who tried to help in their own way saying this is not the trade to join.”

MasterChef earned the respect of the chef community

Like Kunal Kapur, many in the industry faced similar challenges. Recalling an incident, Kunal shared how senior chefs hid their professional identities in those days. “I remember when I joined the industry, senior chefs who wanted to get married, always told the girls that they were managers of a hotel. They didn’t say that they were chefs. There was a lot of social stigma attached to it. When the first season ended, many chefs thanked me and said that now, when they returned home, their wives, children, in-laws and siblings not only cook, but create. After the show, what also changed was… when the restaurants “were reviewed, they published photos only of the food and the restaurant, but after the show, they also started posting the chef’s photo. “There was also recognition from the industry that was instrumental in galvanizing and bringing recognition to the industry and home cooks.”

Kunal Kapur addresses accusations that MasterChef is scripted

The latest season of Celebrity MasterChef appeared to take a big toll on the show’s credibility. While Gaurav Khanna was accused of copying a dish, Tejasswi Prakash’s admission on Laughter Chefs that she didn’t know how to cook left many viewers wondering if real cooking actually takes place on Celebrity MasterChef. Kunal Kapur touched on the same issue and said that such assumptions are unfair. According to him, due to time constraints on each episode, not all details of the cooking process can be shown, resulting in heavily edited segments. “So when someone excels at a dish, people wonder how it was made in such a short time. We can’t show the entire process, which leads some viewers to make assumptions,” he explained.*

He went on to explain how the contestants are only groomed before entering the MasterChef India kitchen. “When we select certain candidates who eventually make it to the program, we take them on a course that trains them in certain skills to improve their culinary capabilities. We train them in certain skill sets so that when they are in the MasterChef kitchen and start cooking, they are already at a level that people are amazed at. We go to great lengths to train them and get them up to speed and on par with each other so that the competition remains very interesting. This is before they go on the program. There is a small training capsule at the same time. “We decided that they should go. Then they come to the program and cook.”

MasterChef Indian Season 9 will air on Sony TV and SonyLiv starting January 5, Monday to Friday at 9 pm.