MUMABI: Ira Singhal’s Chef Of Delhi, a cookery contest, which was held in the capital city recently was a roaring success. In fact, Ira is being regularly asked when she would hold another such contest again. “Delhi responded a lot, it was beyond my imagination. I thought that gathering everyone for a cooking event was a tough task, but my experience is that if you are going the right way with proper deliverables, then people will love the event and even wait for next one. Now, people are regularly asking me, when will your next event happen and this is my real earning,” she says.

Ask her how it was interacting with the contestants, and she says, “I was free in the event for interaction with the audience and contestants but Chef Ripudaman Handa, who was judging the show, actor Aniruddh Dave, who was judging as well, and the other chefs made everyone feel welcome. They interacted with each and every person and judged every dish very minutely. They did full Masti with the contestants.”

She adds, “Delhi people were very happy when these celebrities were amongst them. And as an organiser, I thank both of them. They are so down to earth and are very polite. They helped me make this event a grand success.”

The event gave a platform to housewives to showcase their cooking talent. Talking about how the idea germinated, she says, “When we talk about home chefs, the first name which comes in our mind is mom.

Everybody sees their moms in the kitchen and how they work hard. I wanted to give a platform to all these moms with a motive that your cooking skills are precious. And in India, mothers are hidden celebrity chefs and definitely this idea germinated from looking at my hardworking mom.”

Talking about her future plans, she says, “In the future, we are looking to have this event at Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai. I want to spread the taste of traditional recipes all over India.”