Santosh Shah

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Santosh Shah
Shah with his book Ayla in front of Nilgiri
Born5 November 1985
Karjanha, Siraha District, Nepal
NationalityNepalese
OccupationChef
Known forPromoting Nepalese and Mithila food worldwide.
Notable workFinalist in Masterchef UK 'The Professionals' - 2020,

Winner of MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch Special - 2021

Masterjudge of CHEF NEPAL: Country's 1st Food Reality TV Show

Mithila thali janakpur

Santosh Shah is a Nepalese chef based on London, known for competing in the UK's reality cookery TV series BBC MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020.[1] Declared second runner up, Santosh is credited for popularising Nepalese cuisine in the UK and worldwide.[2] In 2021, Santosh once again, competed in the UK's BBC MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch and was declared the winner.[3][4][5]

Early life[edit]

Santosh grew up in Karjhana village of Siraha district, a small village outside of Kathmandu.[1] When he was nine, he started working as a labourer digging canals to support his family's financial needs.[6] When he was 14, he travelled to India for his first culinary job as a dishwasher in a five-star hotel.[7][8] It was at this point that Santosh realised his dream of becoming a chef. He worked under Executive Chef and CEO Vivek Singh for over two years, rising through the hospitality ranks in India.[9] Santosh received his Diploma in Hotel & Catering Management from the Institute of Baroda, India before travelling to London in 2010.[6][1][10]

Career[edit]

Santosh worked at some of famous Indian restaurants in London including Dishoom and Michelin-starred Benares,[9] before becoming a sous-chef at Chef Vivek Singh’s Westminster hot spot, The Cinnamon Club.[2] Santosh worked at The Cinnamon Club for several years, before eventually becoming Head Chef at its sister restaurant, Cinnamon Kitchen, in the City.[11]

In 2018 Santosh was appointed at Executive Chef of the five-star LaLit Hotel in London, where he worked until his appearance on MasterChef in 2020.[12][9] He is currently working as the Head of The Cinnamon Collection.[1][2][13]

Media appearances[edit]

Santosh first appeared on the UK’s reality cookery TV series MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020. He was runner-up in the series and was dubbed as the "People’s Champion."[14][11][15]

In 2021 Santosh competed in MasterChef: The Professionals re-match, where he was declared the winner.[3]

Awards and achievements[edit]

BBC’s UK MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch[edit]

Santosh won the UK's BBC MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch on 28 December 2021.The show was judged by Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, and Greg Wallace. Santosh defeated three other contestants, two of them Philli Armitage-Mattin and Bart van der Lee, who also appeared on BBC's UK MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020 with Santosh. Santosh won the title by creating an 18-dish vegan feast inspired by the Dashain festival in Nepal.[3][21]  

Cookbook[edit]

  • Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and Himalayas, DK, ISBN 978-0241535776

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Yogi, Bhagirath (2020-12-15). "MasterChef final is dream come true for Nepal's Santosh Shah". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  2. ^ a b c "Santosh Shah, who has brought Nepali recipes to the world, declared runner up at MasterChef Professionals". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  3. ^ a b c d "MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch winner Santosh Shah makes 18 vegan dishes inspired by a Nepali festival". The Indian Express. 2021-12-30. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  4. ^ "Santosh Shah wins Masterchef: The Professionals Rematch". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  5. ^ Akinwumi, Stella (2021-12-27). "MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch crowns winner". Metro. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  6. ^ a b ""You inspire others by learning, not teaching," Santosh Shah". Nepali Times. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  7. ^ McCann, Jaymi (2020-12-17). "Who the MasterChef: The Professionals finalists are, and where to find their restaurants". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  8. ^ Mackertich, Joe. "Get ready for a culinary trip across the Himalayas". Time Out London. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  9. ^ a b c "The LaLiT London appoints new Executive Chef Santosh Shah". Hospitality and Catering News. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  10. ^ IJzendoorn, Patrick van (2018-12-04). "De Brexit zou de curry redden, maar daar merken deze restauranthouders niets van". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  11. ^ a b "London chef Santosh hailed as 'people's champion' after losing out in MasterChef: The Professionals".
  12. ^ Dinneen, Steve (2018-09-05). "The Weekly Grill: Santosh Shah, executive chef at The LaLiT London, explains how the tandoor oven changed his life". City A.M. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  13. ^ "Chef Santosh Shah enters finals of Master Chef UK: The Professionals". The Himalayan Times. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  14. ^ "MasterChef: Professionals fans praise Santosh as 'people's champion' after tightest ever finale". Metro. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  15. ^ "Chef Santosh declared runner up in Master Chef UK, Alex Webb wins". The Himalayan Times. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  16. ^ "Chef Santosh Shah Awarded by the Nepal Government". Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  17. ^ "Chef Santosh Shah honoured with Suprabal Janasewa Shree-3rd". Hospitality, Food & Wine Magazine. 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  18. ^ Brennan, Ailis (2018-11-27). "British Curry Awards 2018: Baluchi and Chilli Tuk Tuk triumph over Michelin-starred competition". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  19. ^ "Meet Santosh Shah, Executive Chef at the LaLit London". www.the-shard.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  20. ^ Burakowski, Leon. "Travel review: East meets west to form the best at LaLit". Express & Star. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  21. ^ Budhathoki, Bijeesha (2021-12-30). "Nepali food is on the world tour. It should be more inclusive as it accelerates the trip". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2022-03-03.

External links[edit]

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