As Virginia Woolf once said, “One cannot think, love, sleep well if one has not dined well”. Even we believe that food is the way to someone’s heart. May you be from any corner of the world, food is something that binds us all together. It’s the chefs that make your taste buds jolt with satisfaction and awe.  Every chef has their own signature ingredient, a special touch and a feeling that connects with you. One such chef who has reached the hearts of many with her talent is Chef Neha Deepak Shah. Being a self-taught cook with no formal training, she has undeniably changed the food scene in Jaipur.

Skilled to the bone and flavours tingling in her blood, she has given the people of Jaipur a reason to rejoice with her food at restaurants Meraaki Kitchen and White Sage. Read on to know more about her flavourful journey.

A chef in the making

Neha was born and brought up in the city of dreams, Mumbai. With a keen interest in food and the process of innovation, she finished her graduation in food technology. After which she moved to Delhi to work as a food developer at Dabur. While in Delhi, her passion for cooking hiked. Being a Jain, she grew tired of the limited options available for her when she went out. She also majorly missed the home-cooked meals that were prepared with so much love and care. This led to her cooking and innovating meals at home that she carried to work.

Her colleagues could never get enough of the delicious treats she cooked up. They encouraged her to take part in India’s ultimate food showdown- Masterchef India Season 2. After she got selected in the top 24, there was no looking back.

Emerging as the first runner up of the season, Neha couldn’t be any more determined to take her passion forward. Shortly after her win, she learnt a few more techniques herself and went on to write blogs for ifood.tv’s food encyclopedia. She also worked as a food developer at Flavour House before moving to Jaipur to entice the city with her cooking skills.

Her recipe for success

Her work fuelled her passion for cooking. She believes that it is what you do after getting fame matters the most. She didn’t want to be forgotten and wanted people to try her food. Keeping that idea in mind, she travelled around the world for a year to try and experiment with different cuisines before she opened up her first restaurant- Meraaki Kitchen.

She got together with her cousin who is into hospitality for Meraaki Kitchen. Both their expertise has together made a name for the restaurant in the city. Meraaki Kitchen is an experiential restaurant that serves different cuisines. They wanted Meraaki Kitchen to have an all-women team as a desire to empower them and bring more women into light.

White Sage is made keeping in mind the need for wholesome and unadulterated food that is rare in today’s times. To reach that goal, they buy organic produce directly from the farmers. This lets them help farmers get a fair price for all their efforts as well as lets them keep a check on the quality. The food at White Sage is what you would call pure and that challenges the idea of ‘healthy is boring’. To promote the concept of farm to table, they even have their own team of farmers who grow organic produce in their backyard.

Against all odds

Opening up restaurants and dishing out lip-smacking food came with its own set of challenges. In the male-dominated society, she was worried if anyone would take two girls seriously. They believed that people would not even consider them owing to their young age. For them, it was tough to bring together an all-women team, keeping in mind the society’s tendency to not take women seriously.

Cooking up the perfect recipe

Neha takes her mom to be a huge inspiration. Her passion for cooking and go-getter attitude along with her being ahead of her time was what inspired her the most. She even credits her ex-boss as a constant source of inspiration and support.

She loves to cook anything and everything. From desserts to savouries, she likes to make it all. She personally loves having Indian food, especially home cooked food. For her, she says her biggest award is people walking out of the restaurant with wide smiles and satisfaction on their faces.

She plans to expand her restaurants and open more of them in different cities. She has also shot a show with Travel XP that is all set to release this year. To top it all, she wants to make education accessible at low or no cost for the underprivileged.

A visionary master chef in the truest sense, Neha has brought a lot more than just deliciousness on the plate. Visit her pages on Facebook and Instagram to follow her journey.