The shef's sweet journey
Serious job
His quick and easy recipes on shows like ‘Do It Sweet’, ‘Gourmet Central’ and ‘Vicky Goes Veg’ have made him extremely popular among telly buffs.
But it looks like chef Vicky Ratnani’s journey will only be getting better with time. Vicky, who clicked with his audiences in his very first show itself, was in the City recently to present awards to young chefs and spoke to Metrolife about his passion and career, both of which happen to be cooking.
“Bangalore is heaven,” he exclaims. “I studied here and used to stay in Rajajinagar with my friends. We would frequent Fanoos, Casa Piccola, The Pub, The Rice Bowl and of course, MTR for dosas. Last night itself, I had a memorable meal at Nagarjuna,” he says. “When I see what’s happening in Bangalore, I feel so happy.
There are so many hotels coming up and it’s quite a niche City with artisanal food as everything is made in small quantities. The weather is good and there are a lot of expats here so there is tremendous opportunity for cooking. Karnataka, on the whole, has great cuisine too,” he adds.
His first cooking show was ‘Do It Sweet’ on NDTV Good Times and he informs that Maria Goretti (his co-host) was supposed to do the show alone initially. But his potential made Vicky shine and as they say the rest is history. Later, he started hosting ‘Gourmet Central’. “I was expecting to do a ‘Gourmet Central 2’ when we started getting a lot of feedback from the viewers that they required more vegetarian food,” he recalls.
And that’s how ‘Vicky Goes Veg’ happened. “I actually turned vegetarian for three months for the show,” he laughs.
Vicky will be seen in a few more shows on the same channel and promises that ‘Vicky Goes Veg’ will return with a new season. “What I do on the show will also be made into a book soon,” he reveals. Will he ever be seen on a show like ‘MasterChef’? He is quick to answer, “I’d love to be a part of it but right now, I am under a contract with NDTV Good Times.” He is all praises for ‘MasterChef India — Season 2’. “Chefs Kunal (Kapoor) and Ajay (Chopra), who are good friends of mine, did a wonderful job. Even chef Vikas Khanna has become a good friend of mine now,” he exclaims. “This year, the chefs were wearing better clothes and even the production value went up,” he adds.
He is also busy with ‘Aurus’, his popular restaurant in Mumbai which boasts of customers like Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherjee, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra. Speaking of Bollywood, does he ever take tips from his brother Dabboo Ratnani, the famous Bollywood photographer? “We share a great equation. But we are in two different professions and don’t interfere with each other’s work at all,” he informs.
What tips does he have for budding chefs? “Keep an open mind and it will just get better. Just remember, it’s all about cooking,” he says.
With a short and sweet advice like that, looks like the chef wants ‘to do everything sweet’!
