His curries might have gotten him noticed on the popular reality TV show MasterChef Australia, but Rishi Desai wanted more — he was there to win. However, falling just short of entering the grand finale hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his food dream. The season-five audience favourite for the title released his book Modern Indian last year, and now has his own show, Stay Home Chef , which will air shortly on TLC.
“A lot of people like to have friends and family over for a meal but are always at a loss for recipes that are easy to make but can still wow anyone. This is something I struggle with myself, and I wanted to share some simple yet hearty dishes made with ingredients that are available easily in India,” says Rishi. And so the show will feature low-calorie dishes like zucchini fritters with salsa, kheema koftas with rice and minted yoghurt souvlaki, blueberry muffins with fresh berry jam alongside regular Indian food a twist — tandoori chicken and rice salad, Kolhapuri goat with cauliflower purée, and hot gulab jamun with pistachio praline.
Apart from this, Rishi travels the world for food demonstrations. “I am frequently in India, and just a couple of weeks back, I had travelled to Dubai. I still have a day job in the Australian Public Service, so all this keeps me quite busy,” he says.
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He has kept in touch with fellow contestants, as it is “nice to talk to people who are as passionate about food as I am.” And while he is following the current season, Rishi feels that it is too early in the race to pick a winner.
Stay Home Chef will air on TLC from June 4, every Thursday at 9.30 pm