On Children’s Day, kids take over the kitchen

Children are often referred to as a chip of the old block. Proving the adage right are some young talents who have been naturally inclined towards gastronomy and seem to be following in their chef parents’ footsteps. We present to you kid chefs who are happily taking after their parents’ culinary skills.

Chef Sabhya Gupta, and Dr Ruchika Gupta

Seven-year-old Sabhya has been interested in all things food since he was a child. As he has grown older, he is constantly learning from other chefs and has honed his skills. He says, “My mum tells me that I have been very fond of playing with utensils, being in the kitchen since I was less than a year old. So,my love for cooking probably comes from here. I also used to enjoy watching cooking videos, especially miniature cooking and it fascinates me While I love to cook everything, I really enjoy frying things and my favourite thing to make is any kind of pakoras.” With a major following on social media, Sabhya is interested in training to become a professional chef and his mother, Dr Ruchika, a cardiologist by profession, has always encouraged him to pursue his interests.

Zanskar Stella and Chef Chinu Vaze

Talking about her five-year-old daughter Zanskar’s first tryst with food, chef Chinu Vaze says, “When she was a baby, we let her feel, touch and taste a lot of raw ingredients. From squishing dough, scratching orange rind and smelling it to trying lemon juice and feeling the texture or shapes of different foods, we let her try it all. She used to help me cook in many of my videos as well. She now thinks of herself as a professional chef and my husband, Chris and I are her sous chefs.”

Ashish and Akshat and Chef Ajay Chopra

Ashish and Akshat’s experience with food has always been wholesome with their father Chef Ajay Chopra playing a major part in their introduction to food. They said, “We enjoy trying different varieties and flavours, especially non vegetarian delicacies and oysters.” Chef Ajay Chopra says, “Food is a center point of our life, my both kids are very much involved. Their taste has been evolved with travel and eating out with me. My elder soon is very keen in eating out and really appreciate eating new varieties and understanding new flavours.”

Agastya and Chef Amrita Raichand

Specialising in desi cooking, chef Amrita Raichand is known to add a healthy twist to all her recipes and says her son, 15-year-old Agastya is “my biggest fan and critic.” She adds, “He has a mature pallet and understands taste and flavours better than my husband. During the pandemic, we cooked a lot together and created many videos online. He is not the biggest fan of cooking but I have taught him the basics. He also loves to help me out when I am creating any desserts, especially with chocolate.”

Chef Samira and Chef Ashish Bhasin

Chef Ashish Bhasin, food and beverage director, The Leela, Gurugram, played no part in cultivating his daughter’s interests. He says, “She was five years old when her teacher in school taught her to make chutney and cheese sandwiches. She insisted on making it for me. I shot a video of the process to share with our relatives living around the world and realised that she was very confident on camera. That’s when her journey began.” Samira, who is now 13, says, “I love to cook but I do not know if I want to make this my profession. I like cooking anything and everything but desserts are my speciality, especially the chocolate-based ones.”