Exclusive: MasterChef India judge Garima Arora on the constant trolls, 'Everybody is entitled to their opinions, I don't think much about it'

MasterChef India has entered its finale week. The season received mixed reactions however, the netizens had trolled the show especially judges on many challenges thrown to the home cooks. In an exclusive conversation with ETimes TV, Chef Garima Arora, who debuted as a judge in the show, reacted to the trolls, on being called biased for home cook Aruna and more. She even shared that she gained weight in the two months of this season, check out the reason why:

It was all very new and different for me, I have always been in the kitchen and never been in front of the camera so it was a very new and different feeling. Luckily, I have chefs Ranveer (Brar) and Vikas (Khanna) as co-hosts. They were very welcoming and caring, they made it so much easier for me. The best thing that has happened this season is that I have made two great friends for life.

We asked Garima about viewers trolling the season and majorly tagging Ranveer and her for this season, to which she said: "I have nothing to say, I guess everybody is entitled to their opinions and what they think of things. For us, it was all in good spirits. For me, it was very exciting to see each and every home cook for the kind of pride and respect they had for their regional cuisines. I got to learn from them so for me it was very exciting."

When ETimes TV asked her about the viewers pointing out Garima pretending to eat in the show, she said, "We take a lot of bites, and sometimes we think there is food in our forks but it is not. So finally what makes it to the edit, there is nothing to be commented on. I don't think much about it. I didn't get to this size without eating. I have put on 5 Kg during this whole season. So yes, I have tasted them all."

When asked about Chefs being biased towards Aruna, Garima stated, "I think it is how people perceive it to be. I have no comments on people's perceptions. It isn't worthy of any reaction.

Chef Vikas is the naughtiest co-judge. Everybody says he doesn't say anything but he is the naughtiest person on the sets. For me everything was new, I have never been on a Television set, in front of the camera. For the first week, I would hear him yell out on the set, 'Baby ke liye coffee laao' and in an hour I would get a coffee. I don't even drink coffee, I would keep saying no and I wondered why am I getting coffee despite saying no. Later I came to know, he calls himself baby and they thought it was for me while actually, Vikas was ordering things for himself.

I come from a kitchen environment which is a high-paced and high-pressure space. We are very direct, and to the point and we can't afford to tiptoe around things. For me, it was a big attitude change, understanding that I am dealing with home cooks and not professional chefs. It taught me as a teacher, what is it to teach people as we get chefs who are trained. When people come with a lot of knowledge and no training it is a different experience. In the kitchen, we have chefs with a lot of training, but home cooks come with a lot of knowledge but very little to no training. So that change in my teaching and mentoring attitude was the biggest change for me. I learnt a lot about myself undergoing this transformation.

Understanding TV as a medium was interesting. I came back to India after 15 years, I went back home after 15 years in so many ways. I haven't spent so much time in India in these years compared to how much I spent while shooting for MasterChef. It was a homecoming for me while shooting for the show.

We don't want them to fail, we want each one of them to succeed but the format of the show doesn't let you help them so much. It is not a cooking school, you could only guide them while they are cooking and it is up to the home cooks to understand and incorporate. In one of the earlier episodes when Baa was struggling with those noodles, I couldn't stop myself and I had to help her out with the pasta machine.

They undergo a two-week boot camp before the show begins to understand and learn to work with different appliances. She knew what she wanted to do, at that point, you do the right thing and help them out. It is commendable to see how she handled the machine at that age.