Pankaj Bhadouria,a school teacher from Lucknow,has won the reality TV show 'Master Chef India',a competition for amateur chefs hosted by Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar. The 38-year-old beat off competition from the other two finalists,Jaya Nandan Bhaskar and Radhicka Aggrawal,to take home Rs 1 crore of prize money along with a contract to host a cookery show and release a cookery book. Bhadouria's final entry was a meal of Drunk Chicken Log,Cheesy Dill Salmon and Cranberry Cheese Blossom. She was announced the winner after voting by host and judge,Akshay Kumar and his co-judges,noted chefs Ajay Chopra and Kunal Kapoor,in the finale. Started in October 2010,the culinary show was a platform to acknowledge and encourage the skills of passionate cooks and groom them to become professionals. The special guests of the grand finale were Bollywood filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan and actress Katrina Kaif,who stars along Akshay in the film 'Tees Maar Khan'.
