: Exclusive: How Sanjeev Kapoor Went From Simple Ambala Boy to Accidental Chef #IndiaNEWS #Food Did you know that the popular 90s cooking show Khana Khazana, was originally named Shriman Bawarchi? It

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Exclusive: How Sanjeev Kapoor Went From Simple Ambala Boy to Accidental Chef #IndiaNEWS #Food
Did you know that the popular 90s cooking show Khana Khazana, was originally named Shriman Bawarchi?
It was on Sanjeev Kapoor’s insistence that director Hansal Mehta and his Australian partner changed the title to something that sounded “a bit more appealing�.
It also may come as a surprise to many fans of the cooking show to know that it was originally supposed to have a female host, and every episode was to feature a different chef. However, audiences were so charmed by Sanjeev’s screen presence in the first episode that he took over the show, and the rest is history.

The weekly one-hour episodes were screened across 120 countries and ran for a whopping 18 years, touching the hearts of millions of foodies, homemakers, and aspiring chefs across the world.
Over the years, the maverick chef has received innumerable letters and met umpteen fans who have shared personal anecdotes about the impact of Khana Khazana.
“Wives, and even husbands, have written to me saying I have saved their marriage. I have even received marriage proposals. I remember meeting a lady at the Colorado airport who couldn’t stop thanking me for helping her settle in the family with ease after marriage,� he tells The Better India.
A part of every Indian household

Whether it is TV or YouTube, Sanjeev maintains his signature style of preparation across all mediums.
“I do not act, I just cook and the cameras just happen to be there. I keep the audience, who is looking for a simple way to make the most exotic dishes, as my target. That understanding has to be there to gauge attention in a world where people’s attention span is barely 30 seconds. I take my time to cook instead of rushing,� he says.
In the 90s and 2000s, almost every Indian household had a ritual of sitting before their television sets with bated breath, armed with a pen and paper, waiting for the ever-smiling chef to appear on their screens to spill his recipe for the day.
Elaborate hotel-made meals would be simplified by the chef, dressed in a white toque blanche and double-breasted jacket, in a way that revolutionised the Indian culinary landscape.

From owning 59 restaurants to running his own food channel ‘FoodFood’, authoring over 150 cookbooks, incorporating more than 10,000 recipes on his online portal and serving thousands of free meals to healthcare workers during the pandemic, Sanjeev has carved a special niche in Indian cuisine.
An ‘Out-of-Box Ingredient’

But he notes that in his youth, he did not even know what a ‘chef’ did, and that cooking was never part of his plan. Thanks to his father’s job at the State Bank of India, he was able to experience life in different parts of the country due to regular transfers.

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