Any contest that involves India and Pakistan is intense and competitive. Commentators look for hidden meanings to every cricket match and political summit between the two countries. But that tension and melodrama do not spill over into the arena of culinary delights, says Nimish Bhatia, one of the chefs who participated in “Foodistan”, a reality show aired on NDTV Good Times that pits the best chefs of India and Pakistan against each other. Bhatia is the regional executive chef at The Lalit Ashok. He is involved in the day-to-day functioning of the Balloch restaurant at the hotel.
About the show, Nimish says, “It was a learning experience for all of us. The competition was very friendly and we made an effort to pick up new skills from each other.” The judges were extremely easy to work with and appreciative of innovation and creativity. “We were judged by Merrilees Parker, a chef and TV show host; actor Sonya Jehan, granddaughter of the legendary singer Noor Jehan; and food critic and journalist Vir Sanghvi. They did a great job and were very fair.”
They got along with members from the Pakistani contingent easily, he says. “We spoke the same languages and had similar preferences as far as food were concerned. None of us was very comfortable with the camera initially. I have been cooking for the past two decades, but this was a new experience. We are not the best of actors and to deal with the constant takes and retakes was difficult. Towards the end, we managed to get comfortable and even brought out our emotions at the opportune moments.”
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Nimish says that all the talk of India and Pakistan being hostile, nuclear-armed neighbours is dissipated by the friendly attitude of the Pakistani contestants on the show. “It was a close contest, but we made great friends. We realised that apart from a few politicians and fanatic elements on either side of the border, most of the people want peace between the two countries.”
“In the show, we were dealing with a host of cuisines spread across the Indian subcontinent,” he adds. “We had believed that we would win by the sheer diversity of our cuisine. However, Pakistani cuisine is very diverse with some elements that are very similar to north Indian food. Each province, as is the case with India, offers a lot for the palate.” Nimish feels it would not be fair to compare “Foodistan” to other cookery shows such as the Masterchef series. “Those shows had amateur cooks, many of them extremely talented. This show has the best professionals in the cooking business.”