Deepinder Chhibber is a renowned chef and food expert from India. She is widely known for her culinary skills and expertise in Indian cuisine. Chhibber was a contestant on MasterChef Australia Season 13. His passion for cooking and love for food has taken him on a journey of exploring, experimenting and refining traditional Indian cuisine. His unique approach to food, combined with his in-depth knowledge of spices and ingredients, has earned him recognition as one of the world’s foremost culinary experts. Through his cooking, Chhibber aims to showcase the diversity and richness of Indian cuisine and inspire people to explore the world of food.
Tell us about your life after MasterChef Australia 2021?
Now that I think about it, my time in the MasterChef kitchen seems like it was so long ago, but it’s only been two years. Two transformative years! As you would know, I am proud mother of the most beautiful baby girl who is just one year old now. But going back to life after MasterChef — you see, immediately things were slow-moving. At that time, the lockdown was enforced and there were many restrictions in the restaurants. The hospitality sector was under a lot of pressure, and along with it, a lot of my plans were put on hold due to the global pandemic. But I made the best of a bad situation. In addition to working on my cookbook, I reached out to Andy Allen and was lucky enough to work at his local restaurant, Three Blue Ducks. It gave me a chance to work in a professional, commercial kitchen and I must say, it’s a different style, but it was definitely a great experience. I especially liked the fact that they do a lot of fire-based cooking like Indian cuisine. Andy was a great mentor to MasterChef, and an even better boss to work with.
Can you share some of your culinary interests and influences growing up in Australia? Have there been any places in Australia that have inspired your creativity?
I’ll give you an interesting tidbit – as a kid, I never watched cartoons. Instead, there was always a cooking show that kept my eyes glued. However, growing up, many cooking shows like MasterChef Australia didn’t take off. I practically grew up watching this show called Hugh’s Cooking Adventures, which starred chef Len Hewitson, who created classic Australian dishes. In terms of places that inspire me to cook, I would say they would be the beaches and coastal regions of Australia. Tasmania is another place my heart belongs to for its rich seafood production. I’ve lived by the beach ever since I came to Australia. The coastal seafood and Tasmania offerings are scrumptious and extremely fresh. The experience of catching that fresh fish and having it cooked by the sea is unreal in my opinion.
How has being an Indian in Australia influenced your cooking style?
Cooking is embedded in our culture. Coming from a large joint family in Delhi where everyone cooks and loves food, it almost became like an extension of my personality and identity. Australia is a beautiful country, and their produce is unmatched. But when you go out of India, you will not directly taste oysters or exotic dishes. Having lived in the country for over two decades, I can appreciate it now, but when I first moved here, I missed the food at home. Twenty-five years ago, you could probably get butter chicken, kebabs, or some basic curry items in Australia, but it didn’t have the authentic Indian flavor. Appreciating golgappas or tikki chaat was more than an acquired taste for an Australian. However, now the scenario has completely changed. They now incorporate Indian flavours/ingredients and include them in their cooking more times than one can imagine. Australia is so multicultural that you now see mixed dishes even in fine dining restaurants. This mix of cultures inspires me to cook with local Australian ingredients while incorporating Indian flavours.
Do you have a favorite Australian dish that you love to recreate?
Australian cuisine is extremely diverse and vast. Being a multicultural country, it has a lot of Asian, Indian and European influences. Also, Australia is well known for its fresh produce, so when I’m cooking, I try to reflect that, but using Indian flavours. For example – I love making Chicken Tikka Meat Pie. I’m sure chefs all over the world must be cooking it, but it’s comfort food for me. i can make it with ingredients which are easily available in my kitchen but i am baking it with pastry which makes it different and comforting at the same time.
Which chefs (Indian and Australian) inspire you the most?
There are so many chefs around the world who inspire me. However, if I have to name one, in the context of Indian chefs, I would have to say Gagan Anand. This is mainly for what it has done for Indian food. He is also an icon for other Indian chefs for making progressive Indian food. He is the ‘OG’ in my opinion. In terms of Australian chefs, I would say Josh Niland. He specializes in seafood and fish butchery. It is about zero waste. He uses every part of the fish, including the scales which are generally considered useless. He’s undeniably pushing the envelope with his cooking. I really look up to his style of cooking and the innovation he brings.
How has your motherhood journey been so far?
It’s only been a year so far, but it sure feels great and rejuvenated. I feel really blessed and every time I see her, I forget about everything else. Motherhood has definitely been interesting and rewarding, especially when you’re great in the kitchen. I love cooking for her; It’s very motherly and makes me feel even more connected to what I create. Suffice it to say, she’s my best critic at the moment! I keep coming up with new recipes and dishes to suit her evolving taste buds. Maybe one day, she can be my cook in the kitchen.
How do you maintain work-life balance?
To be honest, it gets difficult sometimes. However, coming from a healthcare background and working with food, it comes naturally to me. I can never say I am not a pharmacist because I need to reward myself for the hard work I have done over the years. I only work part time as a pharmacist, so I make sure the rest of my time is spent pursuing my passion. I have been fortunate enough to do so. It’s so easy to go back to my 9-5 job, but I’ve worked so hard for this foodie dream of mine that I want to see it come to fruition. I never thought I would be able to reach here, but I did and that is why I want to continue and give my best. During COVID-19, I realized that this is my time, and this is my only opportunity to pursue my love of cooking.
What’s next for you?
The first thing I want to do is of course finish my cookbook which showcases Indian home food in Australia. Coming from a country that is so multicultural, I believe there is a difference in Indian home cooking in Australia. I want to bridge that gap and I can do so with a restaurant that serves a platter of Indian home-cooked comfort food like kadhi or rajma., I want Australians to experience the feeling we get from eating curried rice or just plain dal, It’s a totally different experience. I want to highlight Indian and regional cuisine and I am working for it.
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