Gaurav Khanna emerged as the winner of Celebrity Masterchef season 1 and took home a golden trophy, white coat and Rs 20 lakh cash prize. The popular television actor during his journey faced allegations of copying Swiss chef Dives Josh’s dessert on the show. Gaurav finally breaks his silence on the entire controversy and states he was not affected by the comments. In an exclusive conversation with Times of India TV, Gaurav said that he gave his 110 percent and he is happy about that.
Reacting to the controversy, Gaurav said, "Honestly, I didn’t bother at all and was not affected. My job was to make the best dish for that particular episode and the judges loved it. It became the talk of the town. Logon ne kaha ye hai woh hai toh uska jawab toh khud chef Vikas Khanna ne de diya. He is a Michelin star, India’s grace he spoke for me and when he put out two-three stories on Instagram, the matter calmed down. I didn’t want to comment on it and I did not react to it at all. My job was to make the dish, I did that and people praised it. The dish was something, which even I thought I would never be able to achieve. It was such a tough thing but I managed to do it."
The Anupamaa actor, often seen as the underdog of the competition, further shared how making the dessert was like a dream for him, "It was like a dream, main soch raha tha aisa kuch hojaaye and woh hua and the taste came out so well. The taste of ginger elevated. As an artist, I think only to a point and rest leave it to the world. Ab duniya waale jitne log bole woh inspired hai ye hai woh hai par usse kayi zyaada log uski tareef bhi toh kar rahe the. The weight of positive things was much more, when your guru Vikas Khanna is replying on your behalf, then chele ko bolne ki zarurat he nahi hai. This in itself proves how much they were moved by the dish. They have been seeing this dish for the last so many years. Everyone makes Dal chawal, can we cook it some other way, so there is no end to such arguments. Jisko joh accha lagta hai karne do, end of the day honestly I gave my 110 percent and I’m happy about that. People saw my efforts and an underdog like me won the show, I feel God has been kind."
For the uninitiated, Gaurav wowed everyone with his grand finale dessert, elegantly served in a wine glass, featuring syrup gracefully flowing over a honeycomb-patterned Pavlova. The stunning presentation left the judges, especially Vikas, completely awestruck. So impressed was Vikas that he dropped his spoon in sheer disbelief and couldn’t stop applauding Gaurav’s masterpiece.