In love with Chennai’s idli, mutton curry: Sashi Cheliah

It has been a busy year for Singapore-born Australian cook of Tamil origin Sashi Cheliah after he won the coveted MasterChef Australia title in 2018. His year was filled with exploring food from across the Indian sub-continent, particularly south Indian (as his grandparents hailed from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai). As he works to set up his own restaurant in Australia’s Adelaide, street food is where he takes inspiration from, he says, during his recent visit to Chennai.

“The past one year has been a big adventure for me after winning MasterChef. I have been trying to explore and understand new cultures and cuisines. I’m working on my pop-up, Gaja by Sashi, and on starting my own restaurant (also called Gaja by Sashi) in Adelaide — all of these are offering me a lot of learnings, with respect to cooking professionally. I’m also working on a cookbook, putting together all the food I loved eating while growingup in Singapore,” the 40-year-old says in a tete-a-tete with DT Next.

Sashi, who was in the city to help raise funds for underprivileged children, offered a Master Class and hosted a sit-down dinner at Park Hyatt. The event, curated by Madras Midtown Round Table 42 and Madras Midtown Ladies Circle 7, along with frozen foods firm Sumeru, was aimed at raising funds for classrooms and infrastructure at a city school. “I believe food is beyond everything. It can be an identity to a person and a culture, and at the same time bring a lot of different people together, to one avenue for a good cause,” he stresses. Even as he had to create 1,200 plates of food inspired from across Asian countries for the fundraising dinner, Sashi was his usual cool and composed self, with the same humility and amiability he displayed on the renowned cooking competition.

What kind of food does the master chef like to eat when in Chennai? “I have visited a lot of local homes in the city during this visit. I recently went to one of the homes and absolutely loved their idli and mutton curry. I also love street food. Whenever I want to eat out, I generally love trying out different street food varieties, and take inspiration to create something new. Street food shows the culture of the city,” admits Sashi, who often says there’s no better comfort food to him than sambar and rice or a simple stir-fry.