Bård was our director. It was always so easy and comforting to talk to him. He made so many things easier for us and always tried to calm down our nerves.  He explained the whole process to me and Lopita. As we already had visited two of our competitors prior to my house, so by now we were quite aware of the whole process. But still we were very nervous. It was our turn to cook and serve rather than to eat and judge ;). 

Our neighbors were very curious, as crew was taking the shoots of guest walking in and out of my house. There are always many takes and retakes until director is satisfied with the shoot. But there are no retakes while we are cooking. Once the clock begins there is no break or retakes. Even when we spilled the mint chutney on the floor then too clock was ticking and camera was rolling. For few seconds we couldn’t figure out if we should clean the kitchen or continue cooking. But then we decided to carry on with cooking. As mint chutney was the hero of the dish so, we had to make it again. In 10 minutes we made our next batch and was perfect :)

We had 3 hours of preparation time and we had to serve each course within 30 minutes. As the clock stopped after 3 hours, guests and judges were at our door step. We welcomed them and then the time begins for serving first course.

For first course we served Laks Paturi. This dish is from eastern region of India, where Lopita comes from. We kept the heat (chilly) level very low, so that they could taste fish, coconut and mustard. But the feedback from judges was disappointing, they wanted to taste more green chilly. We were not disheartened and were motivated to do our best in next dish.

For main course we served Tandoori Chicken Fajitas Sizzler.

Some backstage story: After the feedback from judges on our first course, we had to increase the heat in Fajitas. After adding red chilly in chicken, I had to grill it. The time I started grilling chicken on hot pan, suddenly fumes of red chilly gushed towards Bård (our director). He is always behind the camera. You do not see him and hear his voice. But he constantly asks us questions and talks to us. So, back to story Bård inhaled red chilly fumes and started coughing and sneezing furiously. It was so bad that he had to stay out of kitchen for almost 15 minutes. That was the time we knew that we have enough chilly in fajita J

Dessert: Deconstructed Mango Passion Fruit Cheese Cake

Little Pipet filled with mango and passion fruit

We were very happy with our total score and appreciated judge’s constructive feedback. Our score was highest and we were on first position. By that time it was confirmed that we were through to semifinals. This result was an affirmation to what we believe in.

Last autumn, I came across a new opportunity to explore new areas and expand my horizon that was ‘Mitt Kjøkken Ruler’. This was the perfect arena for me, where I could not only showcase my passion for baking or dessert but also for savory dishes. But there was a hurdle; in this show you can take part only if you have a partner. This is something I have never tried before and was very challenging for me. Usually when I am in kitchen, I like to be alone J.  As always, I like to push myself and challenge myself so, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and go for it.

Now, the next daunting task was to look for a partner. I have many friends who are excellent cook but choosing one out of them was very difficult. Then one day, I discuss about MKR with Lopita. She is my friend, she lives in the same lane and we share the same passion.  We come from the same country but from different regions and very well complement each other’s skills. She also likes to experiment and create new dishes and have the same food philosophy ‘’Fusion Cooking’’. She was on board and was very excited about it. I was also feeling butterflies in my stomach and getting the flashbacks of Kakekrigen.

 

We had multiple rounds of auditions. In one of the rounds we were supposed to make some dish and they would judge us after testing the dish at our place.

We managed to cross over the road and finally got a call from MKR .  And our journey began in MKR Season 2. We spent many evenings on discussing different dishes, working on our coordination in kitchen and experimenting in kitchen. 

Memories to cherish, few pictures of our preparation for MKR.

Spicy Salmon with couscous

Empanadas

On the Day of Audition

Beetroot Mousse

Late night discussions

Tapioca Fritters

Handmade fettuccine with mussels

Quinoa Salmon

Lentil salad with beetroot & balsamic onions