Winning on Masterchef UK: The zing of Nepal

Santosh Shah wants the world to know his country’s cuisine, and he’s off to a running start, having recently bagged second place on Masterchef Professionals UK.

The world has yet to discover Nepali cuisine, says chef Santosh Shah. And he’s doing his bit to help.

Shah studied and worked in India for 10 years, and has been based in the UK for the past decade. His dream, he says, is to open a fine dining Nepalese restaurant in London, with a 15-course tasting menu.

The 35-year-old from the village of Karjanha in the border district of Siraha, in Nepal, recently bagged second place on Masterchef Professionals UK, impressing judges with dishes that managed to be authentic yet modern, in the manner of great chefs from around the world who have succeeded at this game — from India’s Vikas Khanna to Italy’s Massimo Bottura.

An example Shah likes to cite, when talking excitedly about what he’s trying to do, is his chargrilled octopus. A simple enough dish to appeal to the global diner, but in his rendition, marinated in Nepal’s timur pepper (which grows in the Himalayas), wrapped in taro leaf (another local ingredient), served with a traditional Nepali hemp seed or bhang chutney, curried yoghurt, and a side of nettle leaf and potato.

“The world still thinks Nepali food is some sort of mix of elements from China, Tibet and India. Or they think of it in terms of momos and chow mein. But we have a rich cuisine, local spices and traditions,” he says.

Shah has lived in London for 10 years, and works with the Cinnamon group of Indian restaurants. Before that he studied and worked for 10 years in India.

“I am from a poor background. I was working while doing my diploma,” Shah says. “I moved to Gujarat after high school and it was people from my village already working there who helped me land my first job, as a kitchen porter.”

In seven years, he was an executive chef at the five-star Cambay Resort in Gandhinagar. “I learnt English in India, I learnt (how to use) computers,” he says.

Santosh moved to London and worked at some of the city’s most-renowned Indian kitchens, holding positions at the Michelin-starred Benares and the trendy Dishoom, before becoming a sous chef at Cinnamon Club and eventually head chef at Cinnamon Kitchen.

“My family, especially my mother, is extremely proud,” he says. “When I made it to the final round of Masterchef, BBC Nepal and some national newspapers reached out to her for an interview and she was so happy.”

He prepared for MasterChef for five years, Shah says, building up to it by participating in other local competitions.

In a touching indication of what his success on the show has meant to his Himalayan country, Nepal’s former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai tweeted: “Congratulations and best wishes to Nepali chef Santosh Sah, finalist BBC Master Chef Professionals 2020, for promoting Nepali

cuisine abroad!”

Chef Shah’s Poleko Makai. It’s typically a street snack of corn with timur pepper, salt and fresh chilli pickle.

His journey was full of evocative moments too — like the time he prepared a lunch box on the show, as a tribute to the packed lunches his mother made him when he was working as a riverside labourer at the age of 12. It was a meal of okra, served with a mango-and-coconut chutney, saffron rice, a crab curry and puri with fried green chillies. His masterchef touch of a carrot-raspberry-chocolate pudding and paan ice-cream won oohs from the viewers and judges.

Celebrity chef Marcus Wareing, one of the judges, called it an “incredible meal” that told a story of “passion and love”. “I think you’ve made your mum very proud,” he added.

Authenticity, Santosh says, is his mission. “Initially, I believed that food needs to be modified for different palates. I have changed my view about this. Don’t make the Laal Maas less spicy and ruin the experience; just have something that is not spicy on the menu too.”

His dream — one he’s working towards — is to open a fine dining Nepalese restaurant in London, with a 15- to 20-course tasting menu. “It will be called Ayla, after a traditional Nepali rice wine.”