Many meals, little time! Australian celebrity chef Gary Mehigan on his love for Medu Vada and Mumbai street food

In an exclusive chat with Mid-day Online, former MasterChef Australia judge and celebrity UK-Australian chef Gary Mehigan talks about his latest visit to Mumbai, evolution of Indian food in Australia, his favourite Indian dishes, and food trends to look forward to this year

Every time celebrity chef Gary Mehigan is in India, he learns something new. Over the years, since the time he spent as the judge on MasterChef Australia, he has made quite a few trips to India and all of them have been a unique experience for him. He shares, "I don’t think I will ever stop learning. Each trip brings a new destination in India and a new food experience. So many meals, so little time!"

Incidentally, this time, even as Mehigan continues his journey of learning more about Indian food, he is also going to bring his own expertise to the table by teaching dessert enthusiasts how to make eggless desserts in a masterclass in Mumbai. The class on July 5 is in association with Conosh, which is known to host online culinary classes, deliver home-cooked meals, conduct popups, and this happens to be just one of them. 

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Visit to Mumbai 
The MasterChef judge's workshop is as apt as can be because a lot of people enjoy eggless desserts in India, but may often be dissuaded to relish them due to the lack of options. So, why wait for people to deliver when you can simply make it on your own? Especially desserts like Summer Berries Pavlova, Panna Cotta with Citrus Flavours and Candied Nuts, as well as Mango Tart with Green Cardamom Sorbet, which are said to be Mehigan's favourite desserts. 

So, what made him choose to teach people how to make eggless desserts? Mehigan, who gives credit to Conosh for recognising the trend, says, "We find many guests want to understand both, as their friends or family might prefer with egg or eggless." Having learned a lot about alternatives to eggs, he is certainly excited, and says his friend, Australian pastry chef and chocolatier Kirsten Tibballs, who will also be doing an online Masterclass for Conosh soon, has been very helpful. "Kirsten has set some of the toughest recipe challenges for MasterChef Australia, and I trust her implicitly," he adds. 

It also gives him the opportunity to highlight how eggless desserts are tasty too. "The common misconception is that they don’t taste as nice, but I disagree. It certainly gives a different texture at times, but there is still a bomb of flavour," explains the English-Australian chef. Even as eggless desserts are on the menu during this visit for the masterclass, it is a different kind for Mehigan personally on this visit. "At the moment, I am loving Medu Vada, and I love the street food in Mumbai," explains the chef-restaurateur, who absolutely loves Indian food. 

Celebrating Indian food in Australia
Back in Australia, Mehigan has seen it being enjoyed in so many ways over the last two decades, that it has made people more aware about Indian flavours there. "There is definitely more awareness about Indian food in Australia now. Initially, a lot of the immigration from India to Australia was from north (India), so we were exposed to a lot of the heavy curries and food from the north, but in recent years, chefs like Adam D’Sylva, Helly Raichura and, of course, MasterChef, have shown the kaleidoscope of flavours from all over India," he explains. 

While Indian food is becoming more popular around the world, chefs are also taking the opportunity to innovate with it but very often it may not sit well with those who like their dishes authentic and untouched. Mehigan, though, believes there is a middle ground. He shares, "I think there is room for both traditional and modern in any cuisine. It’s the chefs that will continue to innovate, that bring us a different way of looking at traditional dishes. There is a time and place for everything." 

Even as more chefs experiment and innovate with dishes, the way we consume food is slowly changing as people try to shift towards mindful consumption. He shares, "It seems to be all about the Future Food Movement, which is essential to all of us in order to become sustainable and adapt to our changing climate.” With the changing palate of diners, even chefs have to constantly keep their ideas and philosophy while making dishes and Mehigan believes that is the future. “Restaurants and hospitality that embrace this and use it as the cornerstone of their ethos will be at the forefront," he adds. 

Over three decades, Mehigan has loved cooking, teaching and most importantly appearing on television starting with MasterChef Australia, which made him a household name in India; and the reach it has had over the years, has certainly made him believe that he, George Calombaris and Matt Preston made cooking shows and competitions more palatable to people in India. "I would like to think we were the game-changer in 'Positive TV'. There are still plenty of negative shows out there, but we proved you could be nice and still create a smash hit show," shares to the celebrity chef, who moved to Melbourne in Australia in 1991. 

Now, he comes to Mumbai off the back of filming another show in Leh Ladakh, which he thinks is stunning, but also loves the beaches of Goa, and the buzz of Mumbai. After this, he goes back to Australia for a brief bit before going to Dubai for a dining experience; he will be taking time off to go to Europe on a holiday though, but will soon return to Mumbai in October for some exciting things, clearly defining how he manages to be a chef on the road.

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