“There is no such thing called a celebrity chef”: Sanjeev Kapoor

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Sanjeev Kapoor is the most popular chef in any Indian family’s kitchen worldwide.

He was the host of Khana Khazana for 17 years on Zee TV and now has a TV channel of his own called FoodFood.

He has authored more than 150 cookbooks and is not only a restaurateur but a winner of several culinary awards, including the Padma Shri, which he won last year.

Kapoor shared his feelings about receiving the award in an exclusive interview with ITV Gold, in New York.

“When you do your work and you do so much of it, it is an honor to get recognized for it. I have been recognized many times in the past but when that recognition comes from a country, it is a different feeling altogether. Although it’s humbling, it puts more pressure on you,” Kapoor told ITV Gold.

Kapoor went on to discussing how TV came to him.

“My growth within the industry was very fast and before TV really came to me, I had already reached my professional peak. Zee TV was new back then and they wanted to have a food show on the channel. I was just one of the many chefs that were there and apparently I understood TV much more than anyone else. I had seemed to embrace the opportunity at a much quicker speed,” he added, saying how he had to find his goal in order to reach it.

Kapoor also gave young and upcoming chefs some advice about coming into the industry.

“I meet many young professionals who want to become chefs and they ask me ‘how can you become a celebrity chef’ and I tell them that there is no such thing called a celebrity chef, it is just a notion. Just create a body of work that is worth celebrating and once you have done that, you will be a celebrity. So focus on the work and do it with sincerity and if people start celebrating your body of work then you have become a celebrity,” he concluded.

In addition, Kapoor also advised people to never waste food and to always find the good in the food, instead of focusing on the bad.

Today, Kapoor is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one cuisine in the world while he empowers women through the power of cooking by becoming self sufficient.

Watch Sanjeev Kapoor’s exclusive interview with ITV Gold: