It's interesting I'm doing an interview with tabloid! on Saturday, because I remember when Gulf News was launched and we started getting two newspapers in the morning," said a bubbly voice at one end of a four-way conference-call interview. Food Network's Aarti Sequeira's vivacity clearly came through as she spoke to me from the US.
"I'm looking forward to returning. It will be like coming home," she said. Sequeira is an Indian-born former resident of Dubai who won the Season 6 of the reality show The Next Food Network Star. As a result, she hosts her own cooking show Aarti Party on Food Network (which is now in its third season). She will be in town for the Taste of Dubai starting on March 15.
"I loved growing up in Dubai. I love the food, the markets … I remember my dad would go to the old fish and vegetable market every Friday. And leaving Dubai has made me appreciate it even more, because I realised not everyone gets that opportunity. It's an incredible experience that everything from all over the world is available here. I'm so excited to come back. It's like coming back to your hometown. It's like making everyone proud, you know what I mean," she said.
Sequeira did not set out to become a professional cook. She graduated in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and worked as a news producer for CNN in New York before realising love took first priority.
She married her American actor-director husband Brendan McNamara and moved to Los Angeles to be with him, and that's where her passion for food came to the fore. She worked her way through The Joy of Cooking and her mum's carefully typed out recipes, each dish turning out just a little better than the last, Sequeira writes on her blog aartipaarti.com about her early days as a cook.
"I'd gotten married and moved from New York to Los Angeles but couldn't find any work and because my husband had a manual [gear] Jeep, I couldn't drive either, because it would scare the crap out of me every time I tried," she laughs. "I just didn't know what to do with myself. My mum had given me a cookbook as a wedding gift, so I started cooking and, slowly, compliments started coming through. Also, something about it all reminded me of me being a kid. In Dubai, my mum and dad would take a nap in the afternoon and I would be idle and my mother would say go cook something or bake something. So by the time they'd wake up for their afternoon cup of tea, I'd have cakes or scones ready."
Because of her skills and her enthusiasm, her husband gifted her a course at the New School of Cooking in Culver City. She never looked back.
"I participated on The Next Food Network Star, where you compete to get your own cooking show. I didn't know anything about cooking on TV and I don't even know why I did that show. But it was when I won it that I thought I actually have talent and can cook."
‘I live to eat'
Watching videos of her cooking online, it's clear how passionate she's about food.
"I come from a family where meals are family affairs and it is a huge deal, and every meal is planned out, something my American husband took time to soak in. When someone says you should eat to live, not live to eat — I don't know what that is," she laughs again. "Food is one of the pleasures that we can experience at least three times a day. It's a blessing, a joy — and cooking it should be such a pleasure that you don't go, ‘Oh gosh, we have to eat now', but really enjoy it."
Each of her recipes tells a story or represents a particular mood — mostly fun, of course. So what are the challenges she faces on her show?
"Well, the biggest challenge, I would say, is the time. I remember the first time on show, my chicken pie just wasn't happening," she says, her laughter echoing again over the phone. "You don't get the whole day to do it. More importantly, you need to keep it interesting. People just don't want to see you make a fish cake, but why you are making it. They want to know who the heck are you. They want to see your passion behind cooking, not the science behind it. They want food conjured up in front of them, accompanied with memories, stories, sensuality."
Sequeira cooks up a variety of food but somewhere in each dish, you can find the Indian in her.
"How do I describe what I cook on the show? It's really a reflection of me. It's not all Indian food, but a mix of cuisines. I come from a food-passionate Indian family — well, I don't think there is any other kind — and I would constantly watch my mother cook and she'd teach me all these things. I never felt like I could ever cook as she did, and I don't even want to try it. What I cook may not be Indian, but it definitely is Indian in soul, in terms of spices and the ginger-garlic and fresh cilantro I use in practically everything. But it also reflects me having really embraced my cooking passion in America.
"For example, the other day I cooked a Sloppy Joe [an American sandwich filled with minced meat cooked in tomato sauce] for my show and called it a Bombay Sloppy Joe. It's basically, well, a Sloppy Joe, but I used turkey instead of beef, or I'd use chicken tikka masala — which may not essentially be Indian — but that's what it's all about. I cook non-traditional Indian food with an Indian soul."
Recently Sequeira's fellow Food Network star Paula Deen faced flak for hiding her diabetes diagnosis for three years while promoting high-fat, high-calorie foods. I could hear Sequeira go "Uh-oh" even before I'd finished the sentence and asked my question.
"This is a really touchy subject. But I don't think I know anyone who doesn't know that you need to eat five portions of vegetables every day or that too much of sour cream, butter or fried food is not good. Well, use your common sense — these shouldn't be eaten every day, and definitely not twice a day. And she rightfully says, ‘I'm not your doctor, I'm your cook.' So do your research. Whose hand is it that's putting food into your mouth? Yours. I mean, it's not rocket science, if I can figure it out for myself, I'm sure you can as well."
Growing trend
Speaking of food culture in Dubai, Sequeira feels though cooking at home is now growing, the diners here are more discerning.
"I'm cooking practically every night. At first, yes, it was really difficult, but now I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And I think that's happening to a lot of people, because they would like to ensure that what they are eating is healthy, and cooking can be a real joy, trust me.
"I love the food culture in Dubai. You have food from all over the world and there is an openness to trying it. And because of this there is a certain level of savviness in people. For instance, in America, people know there is Indian food per se, but in Dubai there are more diners who would know the difference between a vindaloo and a korma.
"I don't mean to say people in the US don't know that. I know there are a lot of discerning foodies here too. But in Dubai, they are aware of food not just from their own country but from most parts of the world. And I find that so cool."
Don't miss the flavours and fun at Taste of Dubai Philips Chefs' Theatre Miele Cookery School masterclass
Taste of Dubai runs from March 15 to March 17 at the Dubai Media City. Tickets are priced at Dh60 (standard) and Dh200 (VIP) for advance booking and Dh75 (standard) and Dh220 (VIP) at the door. Children below 12 enter free.
You can catch Aarti Sequeira at:
- Thursday, March 15: 5.10-5.40pm
- Friday, March 16: 3.50-4.20pm
- Thursday, March 15: 8.40-9.20pm
- Friday, March 16: 5-5.40pm
(pre-registration 30minutes before masterclass is essential)
Other celebrity names participating include Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, Bobby Chinn, Aldo Zilli, Vineet Bhatia, Giorgio Locatelli, Gary Rhodes and Atul Kochar.
Sone of the participating restaurants are Nobu, Seafire, Saffron, Ronda Locatelli, The Ivy, Toro Toro, Zafran, Da Shi Dai, Mahec, Indego, Rhodes Mezzanine and Carluccio's.
For further information and to book tickets, log on to www.tasteofdubaifestival.com
