THE PA(R)TH TO 'PLATED'

In this chat with MARWAR India, Parth Bajaj reflects on his journey from engineer to self-taught chef, shares the surreal highs, and, making a rare exception, lets us in on a closely kept secret about what's next.

- Text Sonakshi Kurbah

It all started with a passion for cooking and a blog in college. Today, Parth Bajaj is a TV host, TEDx speaker, and the proud author of 'Plated by Parth', a cookbook that's already flying off the shelves. Naturally, we had questions. So we caught up with Parth to dig into his story, his inspirations, and what's really cooking behind the scenes.

Q. Could you tell us a little about your background? Where did you grow up, what did you study, and how did your culinary adventure begin?

A. I was born and brought up in Nagpur, with a strong desire to prove myself. I explored a lot of hobbies and interests while growing up. But when I wasn’t sure about my career choices, I ended up studying engineering in the hopes of finding my true passion. Luckily, I did. I started food blogging during the second year and it took off fairly quickly. I knew I had to give it a shot. I was always passionate about cooking since my teenage years, so you could say I'd found my calling.

Q. Was there a specific moment when you realised that cooking was something you genuinely wanted to pursue as a career?

A. When people started complimenting my food every time they tried something I had cooked or baked, and even suggested I should open a restaurant, that’s when it clicked. Cooking came naturally to me. Unlike many of my other hobbies, I didn’t have to practise too much; it felt easy and instinctive. I also realised that I love learning something new every day, and that helped me decide to pursue it professionally.

Q. You come from an engineering background. Have those skills helped you when it comes to developing recipes and structuring your cookbook?