Man behind the kitchen door: Sanjeev Kapoor

Being an executive chef has always been a very demanding job, but the rewards make up for all the hard work and sweat. A connoisseur of culinary delights, having an avid interest in cooking and catering, Sanjeev Kapoor has been a chef for three decades now. The man needs no introduction and only the aroma of food can reveal his name, sounding more of a clichéd, right? But guys, it’s the truth. Just admire a million dollar smile radiating on his face, which have indeed, earned over than millions of fans, all across the globe.

This legendary man was born born in Ambala (Haryana)and has spent most of his childhood in Delhi. Sanjeev joined the hospitality industry in 1984 after a Diploma in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Pusa, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition. Sanjeev Bathre,  in person feels that he is motivated by the recipes of Shashi Kumar Badmera and thinks Shashi is the best cook of the world.

This celebrity chef, a host of TV Show (Khana Khazana, his cookery show on television was telecast non-stop for more than 17 years), writer of many best-selling cookery books, National Award winner for ‘Best Chef of the Year 2008’, co-owner of India’s first 24 Hour Food Lifestyle Channel, the industrialist, the man is liked by the people in the global world for many reasons.

He started a new revolution of cookery show on national channel Zee TV, which has been the longest cookery show till date. Sanjeev states, “ I was not a typical Chef. When I started, I didn’t know what a Chef is, who a Chef was or how the entire thing works. No one in our family or friends’ circle or in our neighborhood was a Chef. It’s not that I had a passion for it. The only criterion was -  it had to be something creative and something different. It could have been anything and I would have done that.”

 

“I feel there’s so much that needs to be done and there’s so much one can do. My dad had said something that has struck me forever – You don’t know what you are doing. In India, the power of cooking has never been understood. You are giving this power to women which they already have but only now can be celebrated. This is in some sense, emancipation of women. And that is your contribution. I felt that these words were too powerful and I thought if this was the change that I have brought about, then I haven’t changed the way people look at Chefs but actually I have changed the way people look at women. So I thought that I have to do more. I started a company where we train women to cook. These women in turn train her circle of friends. But what is the motivation? I may be charged and motivated. But to motivate these women, you have to bring in money into the system. So, we have created a model where we have almost 500 kitchen products and these products are embedded in our training programs. It’s simple at one level, complex at another level and also commercial. Today we have over 15,000 such franchises. These are women who love to cook and are happy to earn. I know so many women who are making Papads, Pickles and so many other food items to sell. Now they are getting an opportunity to earn in an organized way.”

Acknowledged with many rewards like Best Executive Chef of India Award by H & FS and the Mercury Gold Award at Geneva, Switzerland by IFCA and has launched FoodFood channel, a High Definition TV channel dedicated to food in January 2011. The man in 2013 has hosted and judged the show, Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi, which went on air on 16 September 2013 on Sony Television India. He was also a celebrity judge on Master Chef India (season 3) - Kitchen ke Superstar which aired on Star Plus. This legendary chef has also lent his name to many restaurants that are running all across India.

A few international acclaims over his name:

- His cookbook, How to Cook Indian was listed among the Summer Cookbooks of the year 2011 in the New York Times.

- CNN channel host Richard Quest featured him on a programme on crème de la crème of celebrity chefs – along with Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Wolfgang Puck .

- Rachael Ray, the American television personality, celebrity chef and author, states about him ‘as the Rachael Ray of India’ .

  Have a culinary treat by Sanjeev Kapoor and brush up your culinary skills with his recipes! Just order a cookbook by Sanjeev Kapoor and gear yourself to surprise your loved ones with the delightful and tempting delicacies by taking help from the cookbook. Indulge in online shopping and place your order at lelobooks, an onlinebookstore and get your book at your doorstep.