Meet Aarthi Sampath, first Indian woman chef who won the US cooking show Chopped

In 2015, the moment Sampath got through her favourite show was a self-defining one. “It changed my opinion about myself. I realised in that moment that I truly was a chef,” she said in an email interview. Sampath said the competition was the most exhilarating, scary and endorphin-releasing 18 hours ever.

The 30-year-old’s love for India and its rich heritage transcends borders. “I am who I am because of my rich heritage, the city of Mumbai where I grew up in and my South Indian upbringing,” she said. Sampath explained her food is heavily influenced by her childhood memories and has always tried creating food that would stir the right notes of nostalgia. It is not a surprise then, that the best compliment she had received so far at Junoon is “your food reminds me of home”.

During her course at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, Sampath joined as an intern at Junoon, NYC in 2014. She started off by working with the Taj group in India in 2009, but she soon worked her way up to the position of executive chef and went to work for the group in Orlando, Florida, in 2013.

The journey from India to overseas has definitely not been smooth for Sampath. “I have faced every kind of bias because I am a woman and brown. But once people know you are talented , you surpass every misrepresentation.”

Yes, being one of the few women in a field known to have churned out successful men is yet another difficulty that Sampath dealt with. “I have faced ridicule, not taken seriously, sexual harassment and disrespect. At a more subtle level, there was insubordination and people sabotaging your product.” Sampath was often talked down to and used as a punching bag. She feels she’s learnt the tricks of the trade now, and is forced to be a tyrant because she has to “fight these wolves each day to live my dream. It is too too too hard for women out there, so most give up”. Thankfully, this young chef was not one of them, and she believes it is important others don’t give up either, in spite of the challenge . “I truly believe that women have a power with food as they impart their maternal love to food, hence encouragement is necessary,” she said.

While India has made a mark on the world’s food map, Sampath feels the country lacks emphasis on cooking techniques, knife skills and constant practice. “The West is successful as their cuisines are documented with precision unlike our cuisine which is still kept a guarded secret”, she explained. “Alternatively, the food has also never tasted better.”

Also, Sampath is all praises for her boss and mentor Chef Viku – that’s Michelin-starred, celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna to the rest of us. “He pushes me so hard in the most beautiful way and gets the best out of me. He never loses his cool in the kitchen, only encourages young cooks. I feel very blessed to be in his presence.”

From the 13-year-old little girl who apparently discovered her mother’s unused cookbooks and fell in love with the kitchen while watching her first cake rise in the oven, Sampath has come a long way. She believes her journey has only humbled her and understands the responsibility that she has towards budding chefs across the globe.  This inspiring chef continues to be a part of  Junoon and is working on a new tasting menu for Fall. While at it, she’s writing a cookbook and dreams of opening a restaurant in Mumbai offering modern Indian and Asian-influenced cuisines.