MUMBAI: This Thursday, Sony Entertainment Television and SonyLIV’s 'MasterChef India' will welcome renowned Chef Manish Mehrotra who will bring along an interesting ‘Mystery Box Challenge’ for the Top 6 home cooks. For the first time, the home cooks will use different techniques utilising the siphone gun, liquid nitrogen and 11 other ingredients to make their respective dishes. In this semi-finale week, Santa Sarmah of Assam will impress the judges – Chefs Ranveer Brar, Garima Arora and Vikas Khanna along with guest Chef Manish Mehrotra when she would present her dish "steamed stuff bun with celeriac foam along with kafir lime and dry dhania chutney”. The Chefs would not only commend the taste of her dish but also make note of the visual presentation. 

Speaking about his stint on MasterChef India, guest Chef Manish Mehrotra said, "Coming to MasterChef is exciting, and I feel happy and honoured to be here because it's a great platform for amateur cooks to come and demonstrate their skills. This is the need of the hour in India, as more and more chefs rise from the grassroots level and demonstrate their talent to become well-known around the world. Indian food is expanding globally, thus there is a lot of room for growth. Since I've known Chef Vikas, Chef Garima, and Chef Ranveer for a very long time, it's wonderful to reconnect with them.” 

Talking about the challenge to the home cooks - Chef Mehrotra added saying, “They have reached a point where they’ve endured such intense challenges, so I had to present them with a task that not only tests their culinary skills but also their acumen in the kitchen. That's what I reasoned when I built these three mystery boxes, each of which included unique items and methods. I must admit that Santa has potential; from the little that I've seen of what she's done, I believe she will be fantastic in the future as a Chef in her own right, and I have high hopes for her.” 

Home cook Santa shared her experience performing this challenge, saying “The task at hand was difficult considering I’ve never used these approaches before. Hence, I had to concentrate on how to use nitrogen and a siphon gun before even thinking about what to prepare. But, given that it is the ‘finale ki journey’ week, I had to give my best and do my very best. I was nervous about working with these methods, but I eventually gave it my all and the judges liked my dish."

Tune in to watch MasterChef India, every Monday to Friday at 9 pm only on Sony Entertainment Television and SonyLIV