Can Sanjeev Kapoor keep drama out of his new reality show? Everyone can cook a meal. But if you can pack in a surprise,you are a winner, said Sanjeev Kapoor. Going by this philosophy,the winner at a recent promotional event held in Chandigarh was the celebrity chef himself. To prove his point,Kapoor stuffed golgappas with a moong dal-pumpkin mix instead of the traditional aloo filling. Then,he dunked them into grape juice,before serving it to the gathering. This was his way of prodding the crowd that had gathered to make it to his upcoming reality show to dabble in kitchen innovations. The show FoodFood Mahachallenge will be one of the highlights of his soon-to-be-launched 24X7 channel FoodFood. For those who need more reason to watch the show,there will be Madhuri Dixit-Nene,Kapoors co-host for the show. We are looking for amateur cooks from across the country who are innovative. The show will pitch eight women against an equal number of men, said Kapoor,who along with Dixit-Nene will mentor both the teams. The call for entries kicked off in Ahmedabad,followed by Pune,Indore and Chandigarh tour. The selected finalists would be called to Mumbai for the show in early May. If Kapoor is to be believed,the response to the show has been very encouraging so far. The reason lies in the surge of food-related programming on Indian television as the viewer is enjoying being entertained by food. However,generating this kind of response to food programmes has taken Kapoor 15 years. Much before Nigella Lawson or Kylie Kwong became household names in India,he made Khana Khazana on Zee TV a must-watch for many every afternoon. But,this time around,he wants to tap the growing interest among youngsters,specially in Tier II cities,regarding food. Homemakers and the 35-year-plus audience might form a huge chunk of our audience,but I now find an increasing number of youngsters enjoying food be it trying a new cuisine or even just watching it being cooked, said Kapoor. Unlike most of the reality cookery shows on Indian television,Kapoor insists that his channel will be focussed on food,not drama. The best dish will win at the end of the day, asserted Kapoor. However,considering the drama that prevailed at the Chandigarh event be it over the making of golgappa filled with grape juice; mashed pumpkin or on-the-spot potato chips making competition or the gathering gushing over the chef it remains to be seen how Kapoor and Dixit-Nene would keep the focus on food.
