Nayanjyoti Saikia of Assam became the winner of MasterChef India Season 7 after nailing a series of culinary challenges. After nearly three months, the popular cooking reality show’s winner’s name was announced on Friday. He took home a cash prize of Rs 25 lakhs and a trophy. The first runner-up was Santa Sarmah while the second runner-up was Suvarna Bagul. Well-known chef and TV personality Sanjeev Kapoor was the celebrity judge on the grand finale, where the contestants had to cook three dishes.
The contestants were judged on taste, presentation and innovation and whoever could nail all three could have emerged as the winner of the show. Nayanjyoti from Tinsukia district of Assam clinched the trophy with his culinary skills. Season 7 of the show was judged by Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar who returned for the show. However, Vineet Bhatia was replaced by Garima Arora. First runner-up Santa Sarmah also hails from Assam.
Talking about his win, Nayanjyoti told an online portal, “I had a simple dream and that was to go to MasterChef India and cook, but now I feel like all my goals in life are complete. I did not only go to MasterChef, but I also got the apron and winning this intense food competition feels surreal! I had my self-doubts, but the three judges motivated us so much, especially Chef Vikas Khanna who has helped me so much since the day of the auditions. The biggest thing is that my father is the happiest of them all; he was against the idea of seeing me cook but today, this achievement makes it all worth it."
Vikas Khanna also spoke about Nayanjyoti’s win and said, “I still remember the timid Nayanjyoti from Tinsukia, who I went to meet in his house. I was so impressed by his vision and creativity and how he can turn food into art. He inspired me through his social media posts and so I decided that he was the right fit for MasterChef India."
(Source: India Today/Instagram)