A first-generation Australian, chef Justin Narayan has never shied away from his Indo-Fijian heritage. On MasterChef Australia and off it, the 29-year-old chef has explored and infused the different influences in his life into his cooking — reflected in his mother’s chicken curry, a plate of coke and potato chips, and roasted pumpkin with charred leek puree and pickled and fried broccoli that he wowed the judges with. In tune with the Indian philosophy of equating anna, or food, with god, the youth pastor-turned-chef looks at food as a way to serve people. Ahead of his much-awaited pop-up at a five-star in the city, where he will give Mumbai diners a taste of his unique culinary repertoire, Narayan looks back on his journey.

Indian chicken curry