In Conversation with Winner of MasterChef India – Kitchen Ke Superstar

Feeling completely drained of receiving phones all day, the very dashing Ripudaman (Ripu) Handa took time to talk to us about his feelings on winning the third season of MasterChef-Kitchen Ke Superstar.

“Oh my God! It is unbelievable; I am on the phone all day. Though surprising, it’s a great feeling to enjoy this moment,” Ripu quips. The youngest contestant on the show is amazed at the feeling of making his friends and family proud by achieving such a big feat at this young age.

The Delhi boy, who works as a gym trainer, was always interested in cooking and without anyone in the family knowing about it, Ripu decided to participate in the show, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I have listened to everyone all my life, and for the first time, I wanted to do something myself, and this risk definitely paid off well,” he adds. The Punjabi boy, who was popular of bringing international twist while cooking Indian food, says he wasn’t here to win; rather wanted to enjoy the experience of making good food.

Ripu, who was both excited and nervous, feels that he has learnt a lot about food and that is what will definitely take him a long way. He is also eager to pen his culinary book and says that he hasn’t yet given a thought as to how would he use the prize money of Rs 1 crore that he received.
“The money has gone to my mother, and as for me, I want to go abroad to study more about the food industry to brush up my skills. I even plan to do food research in India or start up my own restaurant,” the 23-year old Ripu adds.

Ripu won the battle of the kitchen by defeating Doyel Sarangi, a homemaker from Kolkata and Varanasi-based Navneet Rastogi, who is into catering business.

The show, judged by ever-popular Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna and Kunal Kapoor, saw Navneet settling for the runners-up title.

Ripu happens to be the first male winner on the show after Pankaj Bhadouria and Shipra Khanna winning in the previous seasons.

The star of the moment, who is loved by women of all ages for his good looks and stylish attitude, feels humbled by the love he has received from his fans who supported him all along and voted for him to make him the ultimate winner. He is also thankful to his family which gave him a lot of love throughout his journey.

Ripu, who is inspired by chef Sanjeev Kapoor, has a dream to cook for the famous international chef Gordan Ramsay. “If he ever comes to India and I get a chance, I will definitely like to stir up an Indian dish for him in my style,” Ripu hopes.

The finale, as earlier reported by us, was hosted by handsome TV actor Ravi Dubey and graced by Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha who came to the show to promote their forthcoming film Lootera.