Making it to the final three of BBC One’s MasterChef, Radha Kaushal-Bolland has shared what she plans to do next after her departure from the award-winning show.
The 23-year-old made it to the final three of the cooking show last Thursday after wowing judges with her vegetarian fusion dishes throughout the competition.
On the show, she displayed her culinary talent by whipping up vegetable-based dishes and modern twists on classic British desserts.
In the penultimate episode, the law graduate was out-baked by fellow Yorkshire cook, Eddie Scott, who went on to win the competition.
Inspired by her mum’s traditional Indian cooking, the young chef mostly creates South Asian dishes injected with a western twist, often accompanied by a cocktail or a glass of fizz.
Her favourite moment on the show was when she served rice and daal to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, and three previous winners of the show, Thomasina Miers, Kenny Tutt and Stephen Wallis during the quarter-finals.
Ms Kaushal-Bolland said: “My favourite moment of the show was when I served up the first dish that my mum taught me to cook during lockdown, daal and rice. It is something that she grew up on and what I ate when I was younger.
“It had so much sentimental value to me but when you break it down, it is just daal and rice. It is a staple dish among every Asian household. To be able to serve top people in the industry this dish and receive the feedback that I did was incredible.”
Despite being a natural in the kitchen, Chef Radha was not always on course to go into the food industry. Instead, she graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a sensible law degree with plans to become a lawyer.
When the UK went into its first nationwide lockdown, Ms Kaushal-Bolland moved back to her parent’s home in Bradford to sit her final exams digitally.
As a way to relieve university pressure and stress on her professional parents, MS Kaushal-Bolland began experimenting with cooking and found her passion for mixing flavours and spices.
Now, she has launched her own private chef business under her brand, The Spicy Flexitarian, and has a short, medium, and long-term business plan that will culminate in her releasing cost-effective fusion recipe books and presenting shows on TV.
She said: “Throughout the journey, I have realised that I am resilient, I can think on my feet and that I have transferable skills, especially when it comes to the invention test. To hear that my dishes were ‘off the charts’ delicious’ was so overwhelmingly positive.
“In the short term, I’ve got several ideas to run supper clubs and fine dining experiences within your own home. I am also thinking about doing restaurant takeovers under my brand, The Spicy Flexitarian.”
Chef Radha added: “I want recipe books under my belt to be able to help the general public, giving people easy-to-follow cost-effective recipes. As many people face food poverty, it is important that we are mindful of this. I want to show people that you can use sustainable and cost-effective ingredients that don’t compromise on taste.”
The University of Huddersfield alumnae also wants to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Nadiya Hussain, who won the Great British Bake Off in 2015 when it was back on the BBC, who now presents segments on popular daytime TV shows as well as her own baking programmes.
She added: “I’ve always loved drama and the creative arts so, being able to host my own TV show or at least, be a presenter on a TV show, would be incredible. For me, it is about highlighting vegetarian cost-effective and sustainable cooking.”
