December 20, 2010 : Master Chef India in Star Plus started its journey with thousands of contestants queuing up to show off their culinary talents. From there, the three judges Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, Chef Kunal Kapoor and Chef Ajay Chopra shortlisted only 12 contestants to fight their battle at the Master Chef kitchen.
Now, after so many weeks, the delicious reality show has finally got its three finalists in the form of Chef Pankaj Bhadouria, Chef Jayanandan Bhaskar and Chef Radhicka Agarwaal. Starting from scratch, these three contestants have showed off their excellent culinary skills in the Master Chef kitchen and in other outdoor challenges and have earned the title ‘Chef’ in front of their names. Pankaj was the first finalist to get the Chef coat on Saturday’s episode after winning the challenge of preparing food for 50 passengers of an International flight.
The 38 year old professional teacher from Lucknow, left her 16 year old job to pursue her dream through Master Chef. On Saturday’s challenge, she prepared Bengali cuisine, which was voted the best dish among others.
On Sunday, the challenge was between the rest four contestants Radhicka, Jayanandan, Joe Bath and Kandla Nijhowne. Each of them was asked to prepare their signature dishes, which received best appreciation from the judges. Everyone put their best as they knew it was their last chance to reach their goal. Radhicka’s dish was selected to be the best one of the day and she became the second Chef to compete for the ‘Master Chef’ position.
Kandla, the eldest contestant, was out and she left happily with the golden memories, which she will cherish throughout her life. The final fight of the episode was between Jayanandan and Joe, which was a very close contest as per the three judges. But, Joe came out as the third Chef because of the simplicity and flavor in his food.
Now, it will be interesting to see who gets the first ‘Master Chef India’ title in the next week’s grand finale episode!
— Rituporna Nath / Sampurn Wire
