RAMANDEEP KAUR NT BUZZ
With a seafood caldine and a tangy ambotik, chef Avinash Martins introduced Goan flavours on ‘Iron Chef Thailand vs Asia’, a reality series now streaming on Netflix.
The opportunity came through president, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), chef Manjit Singh Gill, who selected four chefs to represent different zones of the country. Martins was chosen to represent the west coast.
His initial reaction to the selection was one of mixed emotions. “I was happy, of course but also tense. Iron Chef is not a regular MasterChef-style competition. It’s meant for Michelin-level chefs or those who are extremely skilled. It comes with a lot of responsibility and you’re competing against the best.”
The show was shot in Thailand over one week in June. “We had to film three episodes a day, each lasting about five to six hours. That meant 18 to 20 hours of shooting daily, with barely two to three hours of sleep,” he recalls. “It was physically exhausting.”
But the time crunch wasn’t the only challenge. The pantry set-up favoured Southeast Asian cuisine. “Their sauces like kimchi, hoisin, oyster and sweet chilli were all readily available. Indian cuisine relies on homemade gravies and fresh spices but all we had was one garam masala and a few basics,” he explains. “There wasn’t even a curry leaf. Imagine representing South India without curry leaves!”
The competition format kept chefs constantly on edge. “There were two parts: a one-on-one challenge and a group challenge,” he explains. “In the individual challenge, we were given a main ingredient and had to make three different dishes from it. But there were constant curveballs such as time reductions and surprise ingredients. You had to think and react instantly. There was no time to get comfortable.”
Unlike a restaurant kitchen where everything is within reach, this competition demanded a sprint for equipment and ingredients. “We had just five minutes to grab everything we needed. If we missed something, we had to manage without it.”
Everything seen on screen, he says, is real. “There were no retakes and no extra time. Even before we could process what we wanted to cook, the hosts would be right there asking questions. It was relentless.”
This season was India’s debut in ‘Iron Chef’, with the selected chefs meeting for the first time in Thailand and entering the competition without any prior team rehearsals. “Other teams had trained for months. We hadn’t even seen the kitchen. But we went in determined to give our best, to learn and to enjoy the experience.”
The nine-episode series is being rolled out, with the first three episodes already released. While Martins can’t reveal the results due to confidentiality agreements, he describes the journey as “invaluable”. “Being around such skilled chefs was humbling. Their speed, precision and creativity taught me a lot.”
Though no stranger to culinary competitions during his student days, this was Martins’ first time cooking under such high-pressure, televised conditions. “In my restaurants, I cook with thought and time. Some dishes take hours. But ‘Iron Chef’ is about firefighting: fast, instinctive cooking with whatever’s available,” he says. “It tests not just your skill but your mental and physical endurance.”
For Martins, the biggest takeaway was the chance to present Goan cuisine on an international stage. “In one episode, I made a dish called Where the River Meets the Sea, using prawns to represent the river and mackerel for the sea. I paired them with a seafood caldine and an ambotik, two iconic Goan curries. The judges were amazed by the flavours and I topped that episode. That was my personal win.” While he has no fixed plans ahead, Martins is open to what’s next. “I’m happy with my two restaurants, my farm, and the collaborations I do with hotels nationally and internationally. I take life one day at a time and I’m open to whatever the universe sends my way.”
