Gym trainer Ripudaman wins 'MasterChef' title

Delhi-based Ripudaman Handa's passion and love for cooking helped him win the "MasterChef" title in the third season of "MasterChef - Kitchen Ke Superstar" at the finale of the reality show here Friday.

The youngest contestant on the show, Handa, 23, was awarded Rs.1 crore and a chance to publish his own cookery book, a desire he has been harbouring for long.

Handa won the kitchen battle by defeating Doyel Saragi, a homemaker from Kolkata and Varanasi-based Navneet Rastogi, who comes from a family of caterers.

For Handa, his biggest threat on the Star Plus show was Nisha Verma, who had got eliminated a week before the finale. But now that he has won, his desire is to go abroad and widen his understanding of food and cookery. A Punjabi boy with a flair for Italian cooking, Handa also hopes to open his own restaurant someday.

On a recent visit to the Ajmer Sharif dargah before the finale, Handa told IANS how the "MasterChef" experience was life-changing for him, and how it has disciplined him as well as given him self-confidence.

Rastogi took the runner up title in the show, which was judged by master chefs Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna and Kunal Kapur. The finale also saw actor Ranveer Singh, who came to promote his forthcoming film "Lootera", releasing July 5.

For this season of "MasterChef - Kitchen Ke Superstar", auditions were held across 20 cities in the country, and the top 12 made it to the real competition. It was a mix of all - a cookery teacher from Meerut, a dhaba owner from Ajmer and a cook-helper from Delhi, among others.

The show will now be replaced by "Ek Nanad Ki Khushiyon Ki Chaabi...Meri Bhabhi".