Karishma Sakhrani’s love affair with food began when she was just a little girl. She grew up eating some incredible food made by her mum. So, it’s not a complete surprise that the little girl grew up wanting to create magic in the kitchen as well. Leaving a lucrative job in business development, she took a chance upon herself and participated in MasterChef India 4 to emerge as one of the finalists. And in her own words, there has been no looking back since! Excerpts from a conversation with this enterprising young lady…
What are some of your earliest memories related to food and being in the kitchen?
My love affair with food goes way back. My mum is genuinely the best cook ever! And I’m not just saying this ‘cause everyone feels so about their mums. I grew up eating some incredible food and my palette started evolving from a very young age. And naturally, I wanted to be just like her, so I was always attracted to the kitchen.
When my mum was travelling, I’d go through her recipe books and cook for my dad. In encouragement, he’d always say that I’m a better cook than her! Mum would get wild! Hahaha! Kidding! (winks)
You had a flourishing career in business development at an established magazine. What prompted you to give it all up for a chance at MasterChef India and a career in food?
In my mid-twenties, the reality of my food habits and lifestyle struck me hard. And I took it upon myself to do everything to clean up my life. A big part involved cooking healthy meals for myself. I used to enjoy cooking for everyone and everyone loved it. One day, while browsing online I saw a call-out for MasterChef auditions and thought, why not?! There’s no looking back ever since. It was simply a case of following my passion and my gut.
Karishma Sakhrani, You were a finalist in MasterChef India 4. What is the kind of experience and confidence you gained from the show?
The MasterChef experience taught me all kinds of things. From new skills in the kitchen I honed that I could have never imagined, to life lessons that involved coping with pressure, competition and finding a way to not only survive, but thrive out of your comfort zone. And all this while being far away from my friends and family.
What have you been up to in these past 5 years since the show?
Always hungry to learn, I’ve been enjoying teaching myself more in the world of food and cooking.
Professionally, I’ve been actively consulting with restaurants across the country, designing menus and training their chefs to follow the recipes. I’ve also had the opportunity to host pop-up dinners internationally. I work with several brands in the food space to develop recipes and create exciting content for promotion on my social media channels. Most excitingly, I recently joined the board of a hospitality consultancy, Acme Hospitality. Here, we provide every kind of service you may need for setting up a restaurant. From menu development to staff hiring and training, property hunting. It’s a great balance and I feel blessed every single day.
Karishma Sakhrani, What is your food philosophy?
Honest, clean, beautiful and always delicious!
How much has travelling enriched and inspired your relationship with food?
Always an avid traveller, I’ve consciously carved a lot more time for travel to explore new flavours and ingredients around the world. As with anything, travel is the richest form of education and I actively research a lot about the local food, hot-spots, street food ops and everything related to food about the place, before visiting. And I always bring back local ingredients with me so I can experiment with them in my own kitchen, and keep those travel memories alive through my food.
What’s your go-to-comfort dish to whip up when you’re feeling blue or need some cheering up?
An oozy-gooey grilled cheese toastie! And I’ll switch up the flavours by using different cheeses, adding kimchi or caramelized onions, or something like that!
The lockdown has forced a lot of us to introspect and reinvent the way we think about food, nutrition, and health. Any perspectives on that?
I actually had this turning point in my life when I was around 25, which is what prompted me toward living better and cooking more. For me, contrastingly, the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has made me want to live my life a little more. I’m not someone who likes to obsess over anything. I’ve been living with even more balance, and most importantly, a positive and grateful mind. An attitude of gratitude makes you stronger.
Karishma Sakhrani, What’s the one place you hope to travel to once things are back to normal? And what’s on your eating wish-list there?
The whole world! Hahaha! But if I had to pick just one place, I’d choose Morocco. They cook a lot over charcoal and everything looks packed with flavour! And of course, the markets look magical and I’d love to shop for spices and herbs to bring back home.
Your mantra in life?
Balance! Nothing good or “bad” in excess can ever be good for you. As a reminder, I recently got a balance symbol of two interlocking triangles tattooed on my wrist.
Karishma Sakhrani for TMM
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