What piqued your interest in cooking?Fire. I love being close to fire on a daily basis, it soothes me. Plus, my family has always enjoyed great food and constantly encouraged me.

How would you describe your journey from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris to the stage of Masterchef india?Honestly, it has been extremely rewarding so far. I actually started cooking at the age of seven and post my schooling in Kolkata I went to study fashion designing in London. Gradually, I enrolled myself for a course in cuisine and patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2010. After coming back, Ive had many exciting experiences including working at restaurant kitchens, running cafs, teaching at a hospitality institute and my first food venture, Pepperstar. Participating in Masterchef India (Season 2) was also one of them.

Hearth & i specialises in sit-down. How did the idea come by?A sit-down meal allows me to be experimental. Its customisable and personalised. It allows me to travel and serve great flavours from across the globe.

How has the response been, especially during the lockdown? During the lockdown a lot of people ordered DIY, sit-down 7-course meals which I delivered to their homes. Now the tables have become smaller and groups more closely knit, which always has been an absolute delight to cater to.

How have your travels influenced your menu? Travel and cooking go hand in hand for me. Im a wanderer, sharing, learning, unlearning and carrying different cultures from around the world, through food. I have been blessed to have inter-generational friends, giving me deeper insights into traditional cooking. I always bring back authentic produce and novel ingredients to infuse them with local ones. It instills the confidence in me to set authentic flavours apart, thus, enriching my own experience while cooking for my patrons.

Could you tell us more about the 3-7 course meals at home. organic produce you use? The fresh produce used in the food is harvested and served on your plates within 15 hours. I also constantly work on reducing our carbon footprint. We compost all the organic waste and segregate the rest for disposal, reusing or recycling. The vision is to build a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious company.

One meal/cuisine that you personally love cooking? It totally depends on my mood. Currently, it is Italian and Swiss.

Chef Recommends: MJs must-have picks from her menu

Fresh PastaAll the fresh pasta is a true labour of love. and once you eat this, there is no going back to the packed, store-bought pasta.

Ashta FingersThis Middle Eastern delicacy is one of the signature dishes. It is a dessert that will please the ones with a sweet tooth and is a must-try.

Read the rest here:

Megha Jhunjhunwalas Journey from the West - Outlook India