Smita Diwan
From a journalist to being named ‘The New Fanny Cradock’ by Gordon Ramsay. Born in Kenya, made in London, rooted in India, passionate home cook and a fashion diva with great culinary skills that’s Ravinder Bhogal for us. Gourmand World Cookbook Award winning celebrity chef is receiving rave reviews for her cookery show on TLC. In her candid interview with WhatSheLikes, Ravinder shares with us her sweet and salty journey so far..
Q.You were a journalist, a style icon and now you have a cookery show to your credit. How has your journey been so far?
A.It has been an incredibly happy and blessed journey so far but it has not been without its tears, trials, tribulations, splintered nerves and burnt meringues!
Q.Can you brief us on the upcoming food trends of 2014?
A. think one of the things we will see a lot more of is an emphasis on provenance of ingredients – I would love to see more restaurants working directly with farmers so their produce is completely traceable. I also think that the healthy food industry will grow significantly as many people are getting aware of the benefits of healthy eating.
Q.If you were asked to go on a food trail, which country would you choose & why!
A.I love Asian food so I would be lead completely by my own greed. I would love to trail China, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Korea and Japan.
Q.Nowadays even kids are asked to present their culinary skills with innovative dishes in various cookery based reality shows. What is your take on this?
A.I think any medium which connects children with food is a good one. I think it is important that everyone should be able to cook for own self to know exactly what they are putting into their bodies.
Q.One style tip you would like to recommend to our readers?
A. Yves Saint Laurent once said, “Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.” – meaning what you are wearing is only secondary to who you are.
Q. Any advice for our readers who aspire to be like you!
A.Oh my goodness – on most days I am a walking disaster zone so not sure why anyone would want to be like me – but I suppose the things that matter most to me are being hardworking, passionate, bloody minded and happy!
Q.Which is your favourite Indian dish?
A.I love chaat – I could eat at least a 100 panipuris! Don’t challenge me – it won’t be pretty!
.Now let’s play a quick rapid fire round…
Q.What’s your Favorite Car?
A.I love vintage jaguars – they are so very handsome!
Q.What’s your Favorite Smart Phone?
A.My i-Phone!
Q.Pick one Ipad or Samsung tablet?
A. love my Ipad
Q.What do you prefer- Indian, continental or Japanese?
A.I am nuts about Japanese food.
Q.Favorite restaurants in India & in UK
A. At the moment I really like The Grain Store but there are so many restaurants to choose from in London – I recently had fabulous meals at both Blanchette and The Ember Yard in Soho. In India – I just think you can’t go wrong with street food – it always tastes the best in India and just can’t be replicated anywhere in the world.
