Ranveer Brar recalls his journey from Munir Ustad’s ‘lakdi ki bhatti’

Mumbai, Dec 26 (IANS) Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar shared how his grandmother’s cooking talents helped him become a successful chef, and when someone asks about his culinary abilities, he immediately thinks of his grandmother’s meals.

In a conversation with the host and megastar Amitabh Bachchan on the quiz-based reality show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, Ranveer talked about his journey as a chef and how his inspiration was his grandmother’s kitchen.

“My first kitchen was my grandmother’s kitchen,” he said and went on to recall how his professional career in cooking started from a roadside kebab stall (one of Lucknow’s oldest and most popular) where he used to assist the owner.

“My first professional kitchen was a wood-fired oven (lakdi ki bhatti) with Munir Ustad [Munir Ahmed], who had a stall of his own, where I used to crush the spices and dry the coals upstairs,” Ranveer recalled.

“When I stood in a kitchen that uses steel rather than wood, with a professional white coat and a cap, that is where I understood that if people did not have their grandmother’s kitchen, or do not have an imperfect connection with food, they cannot succeed in the culinary profession.”

He also shared his memories from 1997 when he was in Prayagraj (then called Allahabad, Bachchan’s hometown) for six months.

“When I was in Allahabad for six months, I used to enjoy reading Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poetry and Premchand ji’s prose,” Ranveer said. “I would get two days off, out of which I would spend one day sitting outside 17, Clive Road, and imagining what was cooking inside that bungalow. That is how powerful a connection people have with food.” 17, Clive Road is the old family home of the Bachchans.

‘MasterChef India’ judges – Ranveer Brar, Garima Arora, and Vikas Khanna – will be taking over the hotseat on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’.

–IANS

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