Zain Rashid; a contestant who introduced himself as a fusion artist of the food in MasterChef Pakistan is now here to share his experience with us. Zain has been the one who was known for putting up best plates in terms of presentations & at times in terms of flavors too. Zain has an honor of presenting his dishes in such a way where every single plate looked like a beautiful canvas adorned with perfection. Even though Zain had a rocky start in MasterChef Kitchen, but the way he redeemed himself is praiseworthy. Zain is the one who has an honor of leaving Chef Zakir speechless because of the sauce he presented in the auditions, where Chef Zakir challenged him for not making it himself. There were some highs & lows in his journey, so let’s see what he has to say to us:
Q) What inspired you to come to MasterChef?
A) I love cooking and I love food. Even at home I use to cook a lot, plus my passion to create something new out of the same ingredients seems super exciting to me. So to show my talent and creativity in food world I came to MasterChef so I can explore my passion on big platform and I myself have been an avid follower of the MasterChef series.
Q) What did you think about the format of the show?
A) The format of the show was amazing, super and perfect. It was really fair and honest. For the first time in Pakistan I saw such a great show and I’m glad to be the part of it.
Q) How would you define the three judges? Please tell us about them individually.
A) Chef Zakir: Very senior, respectable, experienced and honourable.
Chef Mehboob: My mentor, fusion master, experienced, friendly and a great human being.
Chef Khuram Awan: Humble, a gentleman, great personality, friendly, inspiring and a bit jolly person which is very good to see. On the whole our 3 judges were and are the best judges I have ever seen.
Q) Do you think judges have stayed true to the seat & have not been biased?
A) Yes off course, they are so senior and experienced that they know better than us.
Q) Many times, it was felt that the judges favoured some contestants & didn’t eliminate those who seemingly deserved to go, is it true?
A) Hmmmmmmmmm…………
Q) Do you think the current panel of judges is good enough? If you feel the judges should be changed, who would you prefer?
A) Well I think these judges are totally the best panel and they should remain the same through every season. As far as their judgment is concerned, their experience and even their personality truly represents that all.
Q) How did the judges treat the contestants? Do you think they should’ve been friendlier?
A) Well the judges were very friendly with all of us and if at some point they treated us a bit harshly and that was for our betterment so that we could learn from their words even. Sometimes a lot more was hidden in their advice which became very useful for us.
Q) Who were you friends with?
A) I am friendly with everyone, but I’m more close to Amna, Iqra and Khurram Uncle.
Q) After watching the episodes, do you think the format & execution of the show & episodes needs to be improved?
A) A bit improvement will be needed but as this was the first season so Masha Allah it was the best in comparison to other countries’ first seasons.
Q) If yes; what changes would you like to see in the show?
A) Many people were expecting the wild card entry in which all the eliminated contestants could come back and fight for a particular seat. That’s a game changer challenge I must say, so, it should be there. And yes the challenges should be made tougher. Even I have couple of ideas, lol.
Q) Do you feel the challenges that the contestants were put up with should have been a bit more diverse?
A) Yes, the best and the tough challenge I felt was that when we selected the ingredients and then we had to change our baskets with the other contestants. That day I felt that yes the bar of difficulty raised and it seemed like a real challenge.
Q) What are your comments on the politics among the contestants that got covered in the show?
A) Hahahah, no comments please.
Q) In the personal VT’s were you people asked to speak about your co-contestants or it was completely your choice?
A) It was completely our choice until and unless we wanted to talk about something in which that co-contestant was related.
– Please define your co-contestants in one word;
– Sidrah: Cute and innocent
– Mudassir: Like a brother
– Iqra: Power house of knowledge
– Gulnaz: Gul-naz
– Madiha: Clever
– Khurram: Sweetheart & a darling
– Azam: Decent
– Saad: Captian
– Amna: Fun loving person
– Rayyan: Nice buddy
– Ali Shah: Great company
– Anila Qamar: Energetic
– Adnan: Fusion
– Mariam: Friendly & cheerful
– Ammarah: MasterChef
Q) What advice would you give to those who’re interested to appear in the next season?
A) All the food lovers who think can cook amazing food should definitely come to MasterChef Pakistan next season as you will learn, explore and gain a lot in food knowledge. It’s the best platform in Pakistan and many can find a path of their dreams coming true from here.
Q) In the end please share your experience & feelings about being a MasterChef contestant & what did it teach you?
A) I learnt a lot from this platform and being a MasterChef contestant is like a dream come true for me. I have passion for food and creativity and MasterChef gave a lifetime experience and chance to explore and get to know me myself as chef better. I wish I could bring the pantry home, it was amazing being in the pantry and to stand in the MasterChef kitchen was more like stepping into a dreamland. All the contestants were amazing and great. Plus the team of MasterChef was superb, cooperative. I would like to thank to the management team of Urdu1 and the entire team of MasterChef Pakistan to bring us such an amazing platform about which we could dream only of. Thank you so much. Now it seems like a beautiful dream which got over so fast but Insha Allah I am going to make my mark in the food industry very soon Insha Allah.
So, this was it from Zain Rashid, some straight forward answers & some dodgy ones. :) But I truly appreciate him for being honest & for taking some time out especially for us all. I wish him luck for his future ventures. Share what you have to say about Zain & his story.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.