Cook sure

“Common refrain of all the congratulatory messages that I received was that I had won the title against all odds,” says the winner,who had to give up a teaching career of 16 years to take part in the contest—the school where she taught refused to grant her leave,rather told her to resign. “Seems,it pays to pursue your dream,” says Pankaj on phone from Mumbai.

The pot of the gold at the tip of the rainbow comprises Rs 1 crore prize money,besides the opportunity to host a show on the channel and author a cookbook for which she will enjoy royalty lifelong. “Till the time they begin to shoot my cookery show,I have a lot to catch up on,primarily,home and family which I have not been able to pay attention to because I was away. It’s holiday time,the better to celebrate the win,” says Pankaj,returning to Lucknow on December 29 when “ the Mayor would be there to felicitate me!”

On a promotional visit to Lucknow last week,Pankaj had said something about using the prize money to set up a restaurant,but “right now,I am just taking it easy and enjoying the moment.”

Incidentally,runner-up of the contest Jaya Nandan too hails from Lucknow. Schooled in Dehradun,his father’s transferable bank job brought him to the state capital,where he dabb-led with a number of things including a stint with running a fast food joint and a car accessories business till he pa-ssed the auditions and shot to fame with the television show.