11/09/2014
SPIce it Up with SPI presents its first finalist, Kamala Subramanian and her inspiring story. Check it out!
SPIce it Up with SPI presents our first finalist: Kamala Subramanian from Mumbai! Here's her inspiring story:
"What is the biggest struggle you face when it comes to cooking?"
"Demands at home are unlimited. The real struggle was what I faced as a child in a very big family...I had 9 siblings, so my mom taught all of us to respect food and its scarcity. I learnt my kitchen skills as a child helping my mom. She taught me the ABC of cooking while I learnt to innovate with food after my marriage. Since I had to settle down in Mumbai, I was anxious about my cooking ability away from the South India, but my husband supported me thoroughly. He would show off my cooking talent to his acquaintances by inviting them for sumptuous South Indian themed dinners frequently and that boosted my confidence.
Mumbai fascinated me but my daughter's birth was the birth of demand... the demand for new dishes for every meal.. She grew up to become a very fussy child who wouldn't budge to our daily routine of Rice / Sambar / Curd tradition.
Now she is married to a North Indian and though my son-in-law loves South Indian food, I have ensured that he doesn't miss his roots. So I have learnt to cook many cross-cultural dishes. Now my 4 year old grand son has the best taste buds who can smell the dishes, miles away."
"What does cooking and food mean to you?"
"Cooking is my passion while Food is my belief.
I own the Kitchen Space where I cook with a lot of passion. I love innovation while I hate food wastage. Thus, all experiments are limited only to me. With the right approach and quick intuition, we can even convert the most boring platter into a delicious meal. I believe that a good meal can even control a raging mind, and as they say, 'Food is the way to a man's heart'!
Since many of my relatives are based out of South India, good North-Indian food scarce. When i prepare cross-cultural recipes for them, the happiness I see on their faces makes me feel complete...and I sincerely believe that happiness is the final ingredient in a perfect recipe!"
"How do you feel reaching the finals? How was the journey?"
"A Journey from 1 among 500 entries to 1 among Top 9 Finalists was an achievement. This was an unexpected Journey with a million moments to cherish. The biggest stumble was the 'Cook-Off' during which i had to cook my special recipe in front of Champion Chefs and serve their customer to generate 'Votes'... and yes I did it!!! Not just Votes but i was applauded with Chef's praises and their positive feedback and here I proudly stand as one among the Top 9 finalists. So far so good!!"