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Having his US visa rejected turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Chef Saransh Goila
Celebrity chef Saransh Goila has revealed how having a US visa rejected turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him.
Celebrity chef Saransh Goila has revealed how having a US visa rejected turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him. Goila took to Instagram two days ago to share his ‘US visa rejected’ story amid the recent US crackdown on immigration.
The chef and television host revealed that his first application for a United States visa was rejected in June 2011. “Why? Because I was unmarried or jobless, I guess,” he wrote.
Goila had wanted to use the last of his savings to travel to Los Angeles and try his luck at the Food Network. Having his visa application rejected left him shattered, especially as it happened after he had already faced multiple rejections in Mumbai.
“I wanted to merge my passion for cooking and acting together. I was shattered when this last attempt to live my dream was rejected (after having already faced multiple rejections in Mumbai in 2010),” he wrote on Instagram.
A stroke of luck
For Goila, not travelling to the United States turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A month after the rejection, he got a call from Food Food TV channel asking him to come for an audition. For the struggling chef, it would turn out to be a “life changing” audition.
“After my audition I was shortlisted to be on Mahachallenge. Life took a turn on that show, I went on to win it and I also met my idol Chef Sanjeev Kapoor,” he recalled.
Goila had become the first winner of the Food Food Maha Challenge TV show in 2011. The show was hosted by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.
Rejection to invitation
Winning the culinary show changed Goila’s fortunes. From having his US visa rejected, he was invited to the US to represent young Indian chefs in March 2012.
This time, the interviewer at the consulate even expressed puzzlement at the fact that his first visa request was rejected. “Why was your Visa rejected, I can't understand,” he told Goila. He even told the chef that he wanted to learn more about Indian cuisines.
The Indian chef, in his Instagram post, wrote: “I wish I could explain to him that life had happened to me.”
Goila acknowledged that if he had gone to LA in 2011, his life would have played out differently. “If I had gone earlier to the US, who knows I might have struggled all my life. My rejection made me who I am today,” he wrote.
His story has gone viral on Instagram, racking up hundreds of appreciative comments. “My Schengen visa got rejected and this reel came up so I would like to take this perspective up,” wrote one viewer in the comments section. “Your story is Inspiring and just motivated me to do better,” another Instagram user said.
