Chef Abinas Nayak's human immunity pin

This is the story of two MasterChef contestants The first one takes place in Melbourne Australia in 2014 where Loki Madireddi made it to the top 24 of Season 10 His elimination went down in history since he was one of the rare contestants to leave the show with an unused immunity pin Instead of using it to skip an elimination challenge into the safe zone he made the choice to cookMadireddi has no regrets The pin doesnt decide who I am It is not about whether you win or lose but what you become in the process It taught me integrity to stand by my decisionBorn in Mysore and raised in Chennai Lokis life took a turn when he was eight A fall from the third storey left him with a cracked skull During recovery he was confined to his house and couldnt go out to play with friends Id spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmother learning to roast masalas temper curries and work the sil batta for pastes and chutneys I became a curious learner and cooking crab became my delight says Madireddi in an interview from Ubud in Bali where he has lived since August 2019He went on to pursue a career in information technology like his father an Indian railways employee had wished Higher studies took him to Melbourne It was here that he realised that a 9 to 5 job was not his destiny In 2014 when he was in the US visiting his sister he met his now wife Ishani at a yoga retreat in Tennessee She had a son from a previous marriage When I met Indryaan her son I felt an instant fatherson bond As a family they moved to Pondicherry After six months they moved to MelbourneLoki Madireddi fifth from left with MasterChef India Season 6 winner Abinas Nayak fourth from left at a retreat in Binsar organised for the winner of the first Loki Cooks Fellowship Madireddi who hails from Mysore was a contestant on MasterChef Australia in 2018In 2017 while the father and son watched MasterChef Australia on television Madireddi told him that his job in real estate wasnt keeping him happy For a fiveyearold he told me a beautiful thing dad you are a butterfly you can be whatever you want to beMadireddi took this as a sign and applied It was the last few hours for applications to close and I hurried through 300 questions The next day I got the selection call he saysSoon after the show together with Ishani he decided to launch the Loki Cooks Fellowship a mentorship programme to guide persons with talent but scarce means to follow their dreams When I rolled out the first fellowship in 2019 I received 394 applications and 89 were shortlisted and interviewed Scanning applications was followed by hourlong video chats with every candidate The scholarship offers up to 5000 Australian dollars over a period of 12 months and 50 hoursessions over the phone and video chat to finetune a food dream projectMadireddi says his goal is to help people improve their power of manifestation by believing in their dreams and attracting abundance by changing limiting thoughts It is not just about food but understanding whats holding us back as individuals and trying to heal itWhile the winner was announced in June 2019 in October Madireddi organised a retreat with the four finalists in Binsar Kumaon Himalayas at his own cost At the retreat we went foraging we connected with nature and ourselves The aim was to encounter that aha moment the moment of clarity that leads you to your pathThis is where the story of the second MasterChef contestant begins the one to win the sixth season of MasterChef India last month Interestingly Abinas Nayak 27 was the first awardee of the Loki Cooks FellowshipLoki MadireddiMadireddi picked the Odisha resident for his innate passion for cooking regional Indian food Nayak and I had a connect When I met him he was lacking in confidence He dreamed about doing something with food but was unsure if he was ready to quit his job The first thing we did was to help him align with himself To achieve something first you need to know yourselfWhen this writer called Nayak after the win he confessed he was hardly ever interested in cooking when growing up I loved to eat my mother and grandmothers food Chura ke khata tha unka khana Nayak laughs As an Infosys employee when he was posted in Trivandrum he had to dial home and take down recipes The first few meals were terrible I had no roommates so I did it alone he remembers The Manja Rai or banana stem and mustard seed curry became his goto bachelor pad dish Over time I started seeking out recipes from locals adding a new twist with my modern plating My cooking style is rustic and true to regional flavours Nayak says he enjoyed taking an ingredient and working with it to see it transform on the plate His confidence grew as he participated in local contests including the All India Hungry For HaldiramIn 2019 Nayak was wondering what he should do next when he applied for the Loki Fellowship He calls it a backup The programme supported him mentally and financiallyInteractions with Loki were more about helping him overcome his fears and align with his soul Our chats were about selfdevelopment not necessarily about food Loki said never to come from a space of fear He had me realise that I could achieve anything as long as I worked on what I loved After that I never looked back he saysLoki left Nayak with one more important skillmdashto understand how we function We need to answer the question why we do what we do We all function in patterns and it is important to tap into intent If I want to cook food it is because I love to I want to take Odiya and regional Indian cuisine to the worldNayak with judge and chef Ranveer Brar and his family after the winHe applied what he learnt from Madireddi on the show Nayak remembers being s scared when he wheeled in his now famous dish besara chicken to the judges We were competing for the apron Ranveer Brar tasted it and asked me about it a traditional Odiya dish When I saw the shows footage later I caught a shot when the three chefs were fighting to take a bite after they had asked me to leave the room I wont forget thatAt the finale cookout Nayak remembers his grandmother watching him cook I made textures of prawn a lamb mangsho and a dessert with milk used in three forms This was inspired by the folktale of Yashoda cheating Lord Krishna by adding rice to his milk so he would consume healthy food I made a kheer with white chocolate mousse chenna poda made from burnt milk and a mawa cakeMadireddi tells us he is excited about flying Nayak to Bali on his first overseas trip Nayak says he will wait to open his own restaurant because he has a lot to learn But when I do wherever I do I want a Michelin star to show the world how beautiful regional Indian cuisine isCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates