RONIT ROY

A taste of your childhood?
My mother used to make a dahi-cabbage that I still can’t get enough of and then of course there’s Dhokar Dalna (a Bengali dish made out of ground chick peas and chana dal).

How come you cook?
Necessity and Scarcity are the mother of invention. Moving to Bombay and living alone as a struggling actor, is when my culinary education took place.

You think one must deny food in order to remain healthy?
I don’t know when this concept gained the traction that it has, but I respectfully disagree. It’s about maintaining a balance. I rarely say “No” to a samosa but I’ll keep it in moderation, I like to eat so I run and do a lot of Parkour with weight training.

What’s your favourite cuisine?
I belong to the seefood (I see food and I eat it!) community. It really depends on my mood- though I do find myself partial to Thai and Italian food. But I’m not a purist. In fact, I like my little Indian flavour zing to my food.

And your favourite restaurant?
Café Penne in Juhu is where I get my Italian fix. Spices at the Marriott (again in Juhu) is fantastic. If we’re getting home delivery then it’s almost always Mainland China.

Any favourites abroad?
Anywhere at Champs Elysees (Paris). There's Jaya Thai at Murray Hill in New York. It used to be a little take-out joint that is now a full-fledged restaurant, with queues wrapped around the block.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten?
I have a simple palate; adventure is best reserved for the outdoors! The kitchen at home is mostly vegetarian. I don’t eat red meat at all, though I do have fish and chicken cravings frequently that I give in to. Things I’ll never be able to forget are the things I’ve not eaten, in markets in Thailand and Singapore!

Who do you love to cook for?
My world is small. My family is most important to me. The kids often ask me to whip them up a cheese pasta which I love doing and I’ll always throw in a bit of extra cheese when my wife is not looking!

Presentation vs. Taste, which one is important?
Oh, when I go out presentation is very important to me. But when you’re at home, there are already tastes and memories associated with home-cooked food so it does not matter much.

The King of television now becomes a Kitchen Champion?
Ya, when Ashwini Yardi (of Colors) approached me with the idea I thought it was pretty interesting. It’s not a conventional cooking show where we’ll be dispensing recipes in bullet proof form. We’ll have some of the leading ladies of television competing for the title and I’ll be accompanied by a Master Chef. It will be like a game/reality show, fun, you must watch it.

Ronit Roy interviewed By Aditi Mittal & Photographed by Yogen Shah.