Sanjeev Kapoor, the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine needs no introductions. A household name across India, he is the Chef Extraordinaire, TV show host, author of best selling cookbooks, restaurant consultant and winner of several culinary awards!
Khana Khazana, the cookery show he hosts on television for the past 13 years has won ‘Best Cookery Show’ awards by Indian Television Academy (ITA) and Indian Telly awards year after year.
As a restaurant consultant he has extended his franchise to Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khazana at Al Nasr Leisureland in Dubai, UAE, Grain of Salt, Kolkata, and “The Yellow Chilli” chain of restaurants across several Indian cities.
Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khazana, offering a wide range of tasty Pickles, Blended Masalas, Sprinklers and 123 Ready To Cook Mixes have already created millions of admirers.
Sanjeev is eager to develop his business in the Middle Eastern foodservice market that is estimated to be worth more than US$31 billion annually and GCC countries alone account for almost US$9, 5 billion. Imports for food and food-related products exceed 95% in the UAE and this augurs well for our business. Chef extraordinaire, Sanjeev talks to the media:
Sanjeev, are you looking forward to participating in the Dubai Ideal Home Show again this year and what will be your objective of participation?
To be part of the Dubai Ideal Home Show is a special experience for me just as my visits to Dubai have always been.
This year at the show, we will be introducing some special recipes and I am looking forward to co-host the Taste Temptation Theatre with my esteemed colleagues in the industry. We will be entertaining visitors with our signature dishes, some fun-packed game shows, and lots of recipe ideas. We will also be on hand to answer questions and sign your books.
I will be taking part with the other celebrity chefs in the BBC Cooking Challenge once a day in the Taste Temptation Theatre, as well as preparing one of my signature dishes on stage.
There will be an array of leading names in international cuisine on stage, alongside some of UAE’s own finest chefs.
You are one of the internationally renowned celebrity chefs and you have won many awards. What is the secret behind your originality?
Probably the best reason I can think of is my good memory. This is because ‘taste’ per se is something one should never forget irrespective of time. While on air during a TV program I remember almost everything I have to do or say. However this comes after extensive research to discover the original flavours of Indian cooking. And once I discover something of importance, I also look into ways of blending this with the modern day life keeping in mind the healthy aspects. Constant innovation is the key to stay original.
Do you experiment with your recipes at least once for your TV shows before going on air?
Yes, in fact this is one of the reasons why I began writing books. No matter where I went, people suggested that I should write a book. Initially I could not understand why but later I realized that most of the books available in the market offer recipes that normally do not work. It took me 22 months to write my first book.
I had to also keep in mind that the book has to be written for someone who is not a master in this art. So after collecting various dishes, there was a selection process after which some popular ones were included in the list. I give serious consideration to the reader while writing a book because I feel books written in an “easy-to-follow” style and scope are widely accepted. The book has to make an impact on the novice as it does to an expert.
What kind of preparations or research do you normally take before a writing assignment, considering the fact that you have written six books?
There is extensive research behind every book. For example, in alliance with a professional researcher on ancient India, we collected information from ancient written manuscripts, libraries and other reference material and compiled them into a bibliography. Since these were mostly written in ancient languages, they needed to be translated. But this is worth the effort because such ancient systems offer the best remedies for most of the illnesses today. Since food was considered to be the best form of remedy those days we decided to bring this to the benefit of the people. Such research before writing a book brings value to the readers.
What food outlets do you currently endorse?
The Khazana in Dubai, and an outlet in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Yellow Chilly chain of medium-priced outlets in India, and Grain of Salt in Kolkata, which has the largest kitchen in India for a stand-alone restaurant. Now, I am also offering my expertise to an outlet to be opened soon in Bahrain.
Show Profile:
The Ideal Home Show launched in 2005 to a fantastic reception from visitors and exhibitors. Presenting great products and entertaining celebrity presentations, it caught the imagination of the Dubai public and its media. The 2006 show is building upon this successful launch to firmly establish the Ideal Home as an annual consumer event of choice for Dubai’s residents and visitors. Ideal Home provides a ‘one stop shop’ to see the very best that of local companies (retailers) have to offer.
Company profile:
The Messe Frankfurt Dubai team has over 20 year’s experience of organising international trade fairs throughout the world. The successful portfolio of events they organise in Dubai include Intersec,Materials Handling & Logistics, Hardware & Tools, Garden + Landscaping, ISH – Kitchen + Bath,, Light Middle East, Beautyworld Middle East, Wellness & Spas Middle East, Interior Lifestyle Middle East, Hometech Middle East, Automechanika, Dubai Ideal Home Show and the Middle East Toy Fair. Messe Frankfurt is a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt, the world’s second largest trade fair organiser conducting over 100 events worldwide with 15 subsidiaries across Europe, Asia, America, Africa and the Middle East.
