MasterChef Australia (MCA) is back for a new season and the first contestant to be awarded a much-coveted apron for the class of 2016 is Adelaide’s Nidhi Mahajan.
30-year-old Nidhi and her husband Sumit, immigrated to Australia from Chandigarh, three years ago seeking a simpler life.
She has always been very passionate about cooking and has been cooking regularly since she was just 12 years old. But when she told her dad that she wanted to be a chef, her father discouraged her.
She instead studied finance and accounting.
Before Masterchef, Nidhi worked at a Call centre in Adelaide. She told Adelaide Now that it was her husband, Sumit, who encouraged her to take part in Masterchef Australia.
“Sumit said to apply, there’s no harm, he told me to give it a go. He takes all the credit for encouraging me and giving me confidence,” she says.
“Now my dad says the credit goes to him, if I had been a chef I couldn’t have participated in MasterChef!”
While Indian cuisine is one of her specialties, she hopes to educate people that Indian food is not just about curries and tikkas.
During filming the season, acclaimed celebrity chef Marco Pierre White fell in love with Nidhi’s creations.
“I had tears in my eyes....I had always wanted to cook for Marco. He’s like a God of food for me, I was so overwhelmed at the time, I was not thinking that it was real,” she told Confidential.
Here’s a little sneak peak into Nidhi’s appearance on Masterchef Season 8:
