1 year ago
Ever dreamt of being cooked for by a MasterChef winner? Well now you can. We spoke to Nikita about her event on the 7th June.
Firstly: congratulations on being MasterChef professionals winner 2022! as a big fan of the show, talk to me about the process. How did you find it?
Thank you. I’ve watched this show for years as lots of people have. It was Michel Roux Jr. and Monica (Galetti). Then I became a chef and it’s always been sort of on my mind. And my family really wanted me to do it. I guess I was finding a job where I was comfortable and felt ready. So I thought, why not? I just applied and I didn’t think anything of it. I just met the deadline. I was like ‘they get so many applications’. But they call me the next day. So it was just a whirlwind.
What’s your biggest highlight from the show?
The biggest highlight, obviously other than the end, was probably the Chef’s Table. I got to cook for a room of 22 of my absolute heroes. People I’ve looked up to who have inspired me for so long. It was terrifying, because you’re just thrown into this; a few hours to cook the best dish of your life. Then you go out into the room and they talk to you about it. Luckily it was really positive. So it was just absolutely incredible.
It’s an incredible achievement.
It was yeah. It was amazing and it was really great because it happened to be in the location of my very first job. And I didn’t know until the car pulled up outside the hotel. I was like, ‘are we sure this is it?’. It really felt like full circle.
So you’re a Clapham local! What do you love most about living here?
There’s just so much to do. You know, there’s a beautiful Common and I have a dog. So it’s a great place to take them on. He’s a golden doodle and he’s cute. He made a little appearance at the end of the show. People fell in love with him! And then you know, there’s so many, cute places to eat, nice little shops, the local butchers. I love M.Moen & Sons, you can go there all the time. I love that. There’s such a nice community of places to go and explore.
Tell us about the upcoming event! What made you choose The Rose & Crown?
I’ve lived in Clapham for seven years now and this has really become my home. So I was really excited to do something local. There’s such a community and I want to be part of it. So that’s why I wanted to do it here.
Talk to us about your style of cooking. What inspires you?
I’m classically trained. I’ve worked in various sort of fine dining restaurants around London. But I also love travelling and my family are Indian and I love the flavours from that part of the world. So I’m really trying to incorporate that into my classical training. I really found that on the show, because it was the first time I had to create my own original dishes. That gave me the opportunity to play with flavours that I fell in love with while travelling.
Finally, what does the future hold for you? What are you hoping to achieve?
The dream is to have my own restaurant. I want my own space to really, really explore and create food that makes people happy. But for now, I’m really enjoying having time to do collaborations at places like this. (I will be cooking at) a few food festivals in the summer and just really making the most of this time.
