'It's great that I won, but the journey has just begun'

Kirti Bhoutika identifies herself as "still a regular girl from Kolkata". 'Still' because the 21-year-old is now probably best known to the world - and to her 41,000-strong fan following on Instagram in particular - for being the youngest person ever to win the MasterChef India title, a feat she accomplished in December last year and one that's much more fascinating when you consider she almost didn't make it to the show.
"I wasn't confident at all about qualifying for the show," says Kirti, who was in town earlier this month for the Etisalat Beach Canteen, where she hosted masterclasses and live demonstrations in collaboration with Al Islami. "I used to bake a lot and was more into desserts. But my mother had a lot of faith in me and literally forced me to go for the auditions, even though I kept telling her I wasn't right for the platform."
For someone who wasn't at all sure of getting past round one, Kirti - who was 20 at the time of the competition - went on to do "tremendously well" at all four auditions, clearing the way for her to enter the MasterChef India kitchen and battle it out with 30 other contestants - all of whom were far older and more experienced than her. Constant innovation was her recipe - like the time they were all given a mystery box of ingredients and asked to create a dessert. "There was nothing in the box that was actually a dessert staple," she recalls. "Just basic stuff and some Indian spices." But the youngster used the ingredients to whip up a 'sweet' spiced pumpkin cake, with poached pear and beaten rice crumble.
Put it down to her experience of running a home bakery while pursuing a full-time college degree that kept her as cool as a cucumber during the challenge. Kirti started Sugar Plum Cakery while at college, waking up at 5am to put together her orders for the day, then attending class, hitting the gym, and offering tuitions. At times, she would go to bed around 2am. She couldn't employ people to help her with the bakery, so it was up to her to keep the fire going, even though there were times she was sure she was biting off more than she could chew. "There were days when I asked myself why I was doing this," she says. "I didn't need to do it. but then I'd tell myself it would make a difference in the future - and it did."
Baking may be her cup of tea, but Kirti had to learn to cook up a storm if she had any hopes of holding her own through the show. "It was only once I entered the kitchen that I realised that cooking is an art, while baking is a science. I know how to do things to the T. This was different. But I kept showing up, and learning from people."
The toughest part of the experience, however, was that she is vegetarian. "Coping with people who were used to eating non-vegetarian food, and taking on the challenges of cooking with meat - that scared me initially. But you can't have a vegetarian MasterChef, so I had to adapt!" That wasn't a call that went down too well with the young home baker's family at first. "I had to really convince my father to let me do this," she says. "But he understood that I could really go the distance if he let me - so that's what he did." It was a show of faith that only motivated Kirti to strive for the big prize, which included a cash payout of Rs50 lakhs (Dh280,000 approximately). "I had to prove to them that the liberty they gave me was not for nothing."
The sweet-faced culinary wizard is not content to merely ride out the wave of her success. "Being the youngest winner of such a renowned competitive cooking show comes with a lot of responsibility," she says. "The real challenge is now. I need to continue to prove to the world that I'm worthy of the title. I need to keep it alive." In that spirit, three months on, Kirti works at Atul Kochhar's Mumbai restaurant, trying to gain as much industrial experience as she can, before she branches out on her own. In July, she will also go to work for food entrepreneur Zorawar Kalra at one of his many restaurants in India. The youngster is also conducting a lot of workshops - like the one in Dubai. In her pre-MasterChef India days, she used to cook a couple of dishes a day. But these days, she has to experiment with at least 5-6 a day. "I have to keep racking my brain for what can be brought to the table - and keep my eyes and ears open about different things that can be done with food." Kirti is also constantly engaging with fans who helped her find success; almost every day, a new Instagram post goes up, giving her supporters a peek into what's cooking - both in her kitchen and, at times, her life. "All the attention was pretty overwhelming in the beginning. But I've gotten used to it now. I'm indebted to my fans, so I try to engage with them often, but I can't let them be my sole focus. Throughout my time on the show, my father always reminded me to be a role model, not a model. I want people to know me for my work - not anything else."
Keeping her grounded is something
Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna, who was one of the show's judges, said: you're only as good as your last dish. "Whatever field you may be in, you cannot live on past successes," explains Kirti. "That's how I see the win. It's great that I won, but I cannot live on this alone. I have to do greater things in life. This is just one part of my journey - and the journey has just begun."
karen@khaleejtimes.com

• Food and Dining