The Hands That Feed
Contributed By - Sneha Ranebennur
I would like to start with the saying "Aap Sab Ko Sanjeev Kapoor Ka Pyar Bhara Namaskar!” Does this ring a bell? Yes, it’s the welcome line of the longest running TV show "Khana Khazana". He is an entrepreneur, restaurateur, an author, television personality. He’s awarded the Padma Shri for his culinary contributions and the best chef of India who has changed the face of Indian cuisine. He has launched the round-the-clock Food Food channel, has a range of cookware and appliances called Wonderchef, author of hundreds of cookbooks which have sold a million copies and as a judge of the reality cooking show Master chef, he continues to charm his viewers winning hearts with his dimpled smile. And that is exactly what he did in Phoenix recently at the Akshaya Patra Foundation - Food for education fund-raising event.
Akshaya Patra is the world's largest NGO school meal program, providing hot, nutritious school meals to 1.7 million children across India. Akshaya Patra USA supports the mission by raising funds and awareness for the school meal program.
I had an honor to meet Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and would like to share the conversation we had with my AZIndiaTimes readers.
How was the experience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in UAE in 2015, when you were specially invited by the rulers of UAE to cook dinner for the PM?
Glad you asked me this question and reminding me about the incident. There’s a very interesting story with that, and now that you have asked me I’ll answer this question on the Stage and share it with the audience.
A couple of hours later, same day…
Sanjeev Kapoor takes over stage after getting an excellent introduction by CEO of Akshaya Patra USA, Vandana Tilak. And to my surprise he begins his talk like this…
"I was asked to answer a question in an interview with AZIndiatimes, the answer to which I’ve reserved to tell here. It was about my experience in 2015 in UAE where I had an opportunity to cook for our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. I would like to share that with you and Sneha asking me this question, is an excuse I must admit. I was invited by the rulers of UAE as there were not many Indian restaurants in the region. They were worried a little that PM Modi is Vegetarian and did not want to take a chance so gave me the responsibility. We were supposed to cook Vegetarian dinner for 12 people including PM, rulers of UAE and other dignitaries. Out of which our PM and 4 others were Vegetarian. We were all set with the menu, started cooking and were almost done as the dinner was around 7:30 pm. Our PM and his team arrived at 4:30 pm in the Emirates Plaza Hotel and we met the High Commissioner to ask what PM would like to eat. To our surprise he said, "No No No, the PM will not be eating anything. He is fasting today!". (Everyone burst into laughter) Oops! We had so many things planned, and he was fasting! But fasting people do eat, like food for fasting, right? In India, fast and feast is interchangeable right? (More laughs). So, he said if you have something for fast, then maybe he can eat it. I ran down into the kitchen, talked to my team and started looking for ingredients for fasting food menu. We had hardly any time to cook, like less than an hour and we started all over. In ten minutes we got a call saying some are allergic to dairy and gluten. So, we changed the menu accordingly with even lesser time left. In the next ten minutes I get a message stating, PM knows that you are here to cook for him, so he says he will eat and not fast. (More laughs). This was getting better and better and more exciting. And we had about 15 mins to leave for the venue with the food. Another bomb shell came our way - rest of the table, in honor of our PM, would also eat Vegetarian! (laughter continues) There was so much pressure but at the end of it, everyone loved the food. Post dinner I met with Narendra Modi he looks at me and the first thing he says was, "Sabko Khilate Rehte Ho, Khud nahi Khate ho?" (You keep feeding everyone, and wouldn't you eat anything?) That was such a sweet gesture!"
With already a busy schedule, you’re engaged in promoting women entrepreneurs, working with autistic children, devising meals for school children. So, why Akshaya Patra? What’s your motivation?
Human beings interestingly, remain same all their life. There was Valmiki, who was a robber then becomes a poet. Intrinsically he was always a saint. So, for me also, I have been brought up with good values like respect and compassion. It’s just that sometimes, what you do, the means become different, but you continue to do the same thing. It’s not that you change as a person because you found something new. So Akshaya Patra was there, it’s not as old as I am, but by the time it reached me it had to be an excuse, just like in Arizona there is an Indian Newspaper that goes to 70K people, which I didn't know but today after you told me I know now. Now that it reached my conscience, I have started to explore more ways to get associated with it. There was a campaigning event for the product that I continue to endorse, called Sugarfree, for which Akshay Kumar was also there. In that campaign there was a charity and it was Akshaya Patra. Since I was also the brand ambassador, I was also part of the event. I met CEO of Akshaya Patra, Shridhar Venkat and both of us felt that we could do many things together, and that is how it started and with each passing day we both realized that there is so much more that can be done and needs to be done and that is what I continue to do. I get involved with them for fund-raising, for doing menus, recipes, governing the advisory board and it just grows.
Now, let’s make the moment light and refreshing as I would like to ask you an off track question, that many Indians in Phoenix are also waiting to know - does Ariel from India really remove stains?
Both laugh…
Sure, I would love to answer that question. I wouldn't endorse it if it did not remove the stains. But on a serious note, I would like to tell all the readers that before I say yes to any endorsement, I try on the product. I have been on TV for more than 25 years and the number of brands that I have endorsed is not more than 25. Every year I can endorse more than 50 brands, but I don't. I make sure that whatever I say on screen works, otherwise I will not do it.
How did the transition happen from being a 5-Star hotel chef to a Television chef?
As a 5-star chef when I was working in a Hotel, there was no question of being on TV because there was no TV. So, when TV started, I understood the medium much faster and this is something that I have always done. I had reached the peak of my career in Hotels very fast.
Yeah, I have read that at the age of 28 you were already an executive chef.
I am glad that you did your research so well. When you have reached a professional peak, you must look at other things. When TV came in I thought it was a good thing, and I applied my mind. It was not that I was offered, it was there for everyone, many people came forward and did this. It was easy for me as I was also a good teacher. I used to teach whenever I used to work, that helped me. So, my adoption into the medium was very quick and very fast. People loved what I was doing, and I continued with my body of work, which people started celebrating. And when you create a body of work, which is worth celebrating, people start calling you a celebrity. Having said that today celebrity word has become very cheap. It’s nothing to do with the body of work that you do, just because more people know you, you become a celebrity, which according to me is a wrong definition.
With the reach of social media everyone can have a lot of followers. You have had a website, when people in India were not familiar with Internet and currently your YouTube channel has the highest number of subscribers and viewers.
You must be consistent in what you do.
Nothing beats Maa ke Haath ka khana - which is your favorite maa ke haath ka khana?
Maa ke Haath ka khana is the best food in the world and nothing beats it. Whatever your mother cooks, there is not just taste in that but lots of memories, nostalgia and of course the love in that food. For me, as part of growing up what she cooked, let’s say Punjabi kadhi, I still love that, or Rajma tops the list.
You are an avid traveler, visiting different countries, learning about their culture and food. Which country do you think eats the healthiest of food?
Always understand that Food is always Healthy, it’s the people who are healthy or unhealthy. It is what you do with that food. Have you ever seen that food is getting high BP or diabetes, never, right? It’s you who would get that. Like many years ago I went to New Zealand for work and in the first week of my stay I was at a restaurant and at around 12-12:30 pm I saw that there were quite a few people running/jogging. I asked if there was a marathon in the city? They said no this happens every day at lunch time and since people have 1-hour lunch time, they use that time. Also, they have showers in the workplace. I think that was a healthy thing to do. So, you can eat again (laughs).
That was the end of our healthy and witty conversation. Look forward to my next interview with another Padma Shri awardee. Until next time, Adios.