Getting Real with Amit Sadh Aug122013

Getting Real with Amit Sadh...

About Amit Sadh Amit Sadh is a talented television and film actor who has worked alongside both Bollywood and Hollywood stars. His first major role was in a Neena Gupta production, “Kyun Hota Hai Pyarr”, where he played the character of Aditya. Since then, Amit has starred in “Kohinoor”, Shobna Desai’s “Durgesh Nandinii”, and the reality show “Bigg Boss.” In February 2013, Amit made his film debut as Omakar Shastri in Kai Po Che, a movie widely acclaimed by audiences and critics.    1) What are the greatest influences for you in deciding whether or not to take a role?  I am fortunate enough to be at a point in my career where I have options and am able to choose what films I want to be involved in. There are a variety of filmmakers and stories that come my way, and I’m very open because I don’t want to restrict myself to a certain kind of role. I am however influenced by my role models in the industry and when looking at potential roles, I often think about their body of work and how the role fits into that. As long as I’m continuously challenged, there are many roles that I’d love to play.   2) How do you feel about your upcoming political thriller, 10 Janpath?  I’m very excited about this, there’s a lot of action in the film and the story is constantly moving along. Before that however, I’m actually filming a romantic comedy based on Shaadi.com. It’s a much lighter film set in Punjab and I think will be a great contrast to the more serious thriller coming up. Both these films should be released next year, which is exciting. 3) What do you think are the characteristics of a successful film today? ...

Coming to America: A Chef’s Journey Jul152013

Coming to America: A Chef’s Journey...

An Interview with Chef Dheeraj Tomar Executive Chef, Devi, NYC   1) What made you decide to pursue a career as a chef? As a child, I was a very creative personality and started experimenting with food. I wasn’t really interested in academics or the common professions that everyone else went into, but I was always attracted to working in the kitchen and jobs involving design. A friend advised me to try out a food craft course and it was there that I felt most at home. 2) Why did you come to NY? Was there something about the NY culinary scene that attracted you? I came to New York City in February 2011. New York is an amazing melting pot of world culture, and the culinary arts have a heightened importance in this city because of all the great chefs and restaurants that reside here. The sizable Indian population in this city made me feel it would be a great place to utilize my skills, especially after working at the Intercontinental Delhi and having interacted with so many international guests. My gut feeling was that I would better understand different palates and tastes if I moved abroad and actually lived among the people who I used to serve in India.     3) What would you say are your specialty dishes? I enjoy all kinds of cooking, but awadhi and mughlai style curries are my specialty. The Muslim heritage in India gave us really great cusine. generally known as mughlai or awadhi food. and the person who taught me this delicate art (Ghulam Rassol) was an acclaimed chef in India. At Devi, I make Mugh Begum Bahar (chicken breast roulade stuffed with pistachios and minced chicken in a silky saffron laced sauce) which...

Tête-à-tête with Vikas Khanna Apr202012

Tête-à-tête with Vikas Khanna...

Celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna can now add to his list of impressive accomplishments the honor of receiving a Michelin Star for his work at Junoon Restaurant in New York City. Chef, restaurateur, food writer, filmmaker, humanitarian and the host of the TV Show MasterChef India, he is an entrepreneur with a vision. Hailing from Amritsar, India, Vikas took the inspiration derived from large family feasts and turned it into a brilliant career. He has received extremely impressive reviews from a wide variety of media sources, his gastronomic peers, as well as recognition from the ever important James Beard Foundation. 1) How has being honored with a Michelin Star effected your professional life? Receiving the Michelin Star was the greatest honor for our entire team at Junoon, who all worked extremely hard toward a common vision. Junoon has achieved a benchmark, and now the commitment is to do even better in the times to come. 2) What’s your next project? I am a person who believes in a vision of togetherness and what we decide as a team along with our mentor Rajesh Bhardwaj, will be the direction. In the meantime, I am working on our film series Holy Kitchens. I just had the honor of spending time with His Holiness Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya. His Holiness will be speaking in the film on Buddhism and the interconnectedness of food and spirituality. 3) You are a writer, television personality, filmmaker and humanitarian. Which one of these delivers the highest level of satisfaction and why? The highest level of satisfaction for me comes from the work that has over the years represented our country, cities and our family in the brightest light. I want my work as a whole – food, books, films and television to...

An Interview with Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Apr252011

An Interview with Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor...

A chef extraordinaire that has brought the ar t of Indian cooking to the forefront of the international palette, Sanjeev Kapoor continues to forge ahead with new ideas and creative ventures. Already a household name in India as the host of the hit television show Khana Khazana, Sanjeev Kapoor is on a mission to give Indian cuisine a worldwide presence. He has consulted as a guest star on Western cooking shows and keynoted international food festivals. He has penned countless best-selling cookbooks and even created his own line of Indian condiments. Here, seated in the lounge of Junoon Restaurant, NYC, he talks to Varli about his upcoming cookbook, his rise to fame, and his favorite pastimes. As one of the most celebrated names in Indian cuisine today, how did you get your start? I started out by working in several different hotels and restaurants across the world. When I came back to India in 1992 as a young 28 year old, I was made Executive Chef at a fairly large and prominent hotel. Although the honor and experience was amazing, I eventually began to feel like I had reached my professional peak in some ways. In order to push myself beyond managing a group of hotels, I decided to pursue a Master’s in Marketing to broaden my skill set. Soon after that, I was approached by a TV cooking show that initially was only interested in having me participate for one episode with a panel of different chefs to be featured. Although I was just one of the chefs on this show, I was so excited by the opportunity that I began putting in more time and effort than any of the other participants – putting my heart and soul into the project helped me stand...