Exclusive! MasterChef India 2's winner Mohammed Ashiq gets candid about his journey, talks about receiving Chef Ranveer Brar's knife and breaking down in tears with Chef Vikas Khanna's praises

Mohammed Ashiq, a 24-year-old Chef from Mangalore, emerged as the season's ultimate MasterChef. He received the Rs 25 lakh prize money, the coat, and the prestigious trophy. Before appearing on MasterChef India, Ashiq ran his own juice shop, where he demonstrated his love for the art of cooking and his creative flair by creating unique recipes that delighted his customers. Mohammed Ashiq spoke exclusively with ETimes TV. The winner shared his experiences on the show and his reaction to Chef Ranveer and Chef Vikas's praises:

The toughest challenge was with Chef Manu Chandra.It was the last pressure test, not a black apron challenge but I was under so much pressure I saw that I had come this far but today I might just lose. Each and every element of his dish for the replica test was extremely difficult and there was a lot of pressure while cooking it as I had to understand every minute detail. I gave my 200% for the challenge even today I feel very scared of it

My most favourite dish was the finale dish for sure and then apart from that, it would be the crispy paradise that I cooked and I got chef Ranveer's signature knife. The biggest winning moment for me was getting a knife from Chef Ranveer.

I have been watching MasterChef India since season 1. I was quite young and at that time we didn't have TV so I used to go to my neighbour's place to watch the episodes. I have watched each and every season and learnt from it. However, I didn't know how to enrol myself, I didn't know how to give the audition. In the previous season, I got a chance to audition, I was really excited and I reached the top 40, but couldn't make it ahead. I realised that I could not give up at this point. I started thinking in a positive way and began to research different cuisines and learn more about culinary skills. I did feel bad when I got eliminated but then I chose to take it positively and here I am sitting next to the trophy and wearing the MasterChef's coat.

I was waiting for the partners' challenge. Where there is a partition, and you need to coordinate with your co-contestant. So while talking to my friends in MasterChef, Kenny, Prachi, Kriti and all, when I told them about the challenge, they said, "We will not become your partner as we won't be able to understand your broken hindi." However, the challenge didn't happen in the season but I enjoyed all the pressure tests that we had in the show and even the black apron challenges that I did. I just wish that challenge was a part of it.

I remember chefs had also mentioned that I talk less because of my Hindi but my dish speaks in volumes. I have learned all that mastery in plating in the show and grown with it. I always spoke less but made sure that my dish made a mark and they would recognise it as my creation.

When Chef Vikas said, 'Aapke haathon mein khuda ki neymat hai', I got extremely emotional. I had cried inconsolably, my mom was scared looking at me in tears as she didn't understand Hindi. Later, when we went back to my platform she asked me why was I crying so I told her that the chefs were appreciating my dish. She was so scared, Chef Ranveer was screaming and lauding me so my mom thought that I must have cooked something bad. Later, when I told her what had happened, she was proud of me.

I used to tell my friends that I wanted to be a part of the show, I wanted the spoon drop, I wanted Chef Vikas to laud me. Chef Ranveer's knife. So today, all my friends have been calling me and congratulating me for the win. Honestly, I had become so passionate about the show and cooking that I used to set timers for my friends when we all used to cook together. I feel elated to come this far with my dream. They are all waiting for me. They watched the finale by putting up a big screen next to my shop. I couldn't believe I would receive so much love, there were a lot of people who gathered that the whole road got blocked for my Finale.

When I had a challenge with Nayanjyoti, he got Akhuni which is fermented soya beans. When Nambie had cooked it, I wanted to try and luckily when the challenge happened and I cooked with Nayanjyoti, I got a chance to learn its flavours and how to balance it. I would love to incorporate it into the Mangalorean local cuisines too.

I would love to, there are so many such local cuisines which get underestimated. With MasterChef, I have learnt how to elevate the dishes and I will work on it then let's hope that I can jot it into a book.