Sarah Todd talks about how Indian food sparked her culinary journey

Ever since she first debuted on MasterChef Australia in 2014 Australian chef Sarah Todd has made no secret of her love for Indian flavours She has since travelled across the country connected with chefs and home cooks deepdived into the nuances of regional flavours and started Antares Restaurant amp Beach Club in Goa When she rejoined the MasterChef kitchen with Fans and Favourites the chef blended her training in French techniques with her decadelong experiences with Indian cuisine The judges and viewers were treated to familiar flavours including Maharashtrian prawn curry laal maas Bombay sandwich and bhelpuri Speaking to us while on vacation in Greece after ending up as runnerup for Season 14 Todd talks about the journey so far and the road aheadEdited excerpts from the interview How did it feel to return to the MasterChef kitchenIt was very different I was familiar with North Indian cuisine because of my sonrsquos Punjabi family But in the last eight years when I travelled across India I realised how diverse the culinary scene is So I felt excited to share that knowledge I had a progression throughout the series where I started off by cooking dishes that Irsquod been taught by some beautiful families in India Instead of just cooking dishes that Irsquod learnt after a point I started preparing lsquoSarah dishesrsquo Cooking is like art yoursquore putting yourself out there and it can be nervewracking to be judged To be able to showcase dishes that were mine and be loved was a turning pointSarah Todd whips up Bombay sandwich right on MasterChef Australia Fans and Favourites Pics CourtesyInstagramYoursquove been a chef model TV show host and restaurateur How did your journey with food beginFrom my modelling days I understood food and how to nourish the body But it wasnrsquot until my son was born that I realised itrsquos important to find my passion I tried different things when I was younger from photography to makeup It was only when I started cooking that I realised that this is what I want to do Being exposed to my sonrsquos beautiful heritage was eyeopening because growing up we had simple dishes at home mdash boiled vegetables and grilled meat For me the amount of flavour that Indian food packs is exciting I decided to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu and started exploring classical French dishes At the same time I would come home to my Punjabi family to learn incredible loadedwithflavour dishes It has taken me a decade to find my style but itrsquos a culmination of these experiencesWhile presenting Indian flavours on a global stage what are the principles that guide youThe biggest part is to ensure you make it clear that yoursquore inspired by the dishes you learnt Ultimately we all have our own cooking style So it is never going to be exactly the same This applies not only to techniques but also the produceMaharashtrian prawn curryYou launched a masala brand and a hot sauce venture What else is on the cards this yearI love hot sauce People think chillies are there only to blow off your socks so I wanted to showcase the nuances in flavours that chillies offerThe range by Todd and her brother showcases chillies from all over the world from Kashmiri chilli to ghost chilli When I started cooking Indian food in Australia a lot of people felt intimidated because of the many spices used in a dish so I wanted to give them access to masala blends like South Indian mix vindaloo masala or tandoor masala Wersquore all busy be it in India or Australia we donrsquot have the time to take several steps for a weeknight meal Irsquom shooting for a new TV show in Assam so Irsquom excited though I canrsquot reveal much I also plan to open a restaurant in my style mdash Indian flavours with French techniquesAny plans to visit Mumbai And what will be on your bucket listYes Irsquoll be there in a few weeks My first stop is always Mahesh Lunch Home I love eating bhelpuri on the beach though I can never pronounce it correctly I also enjoy the Bombay sandwich behind St Xavierrsquos College and yes lots of dosaSarahrsquos picksgtgt Favourite eateries in Melbourne Aru a south Asian restaurant with a modern touch I also love Indian places like Babu Ji gtgt Favourite chefs in India Vicky Ratnani Manish Mehrotra and upcoming chocolatier like Sanjana Patel and Vinesh Johny