From the ‘Whirlpool’ world of ads to weaving ‘Mummy Ka Magic’, meet chef Amrita Raichand

One look at Amrita Raichand and your mind will start whirling and when the flashbulb in your head lights up you will remember her as the face behind all the Whirlpool Home Appliance advertisements on TV a decade age. It has been more than a decade but Amrita is still remembered as the face behind those advertisements.

She was fresh out of college when those ads were shot. With two over protective brothers at home she was allowed to do only mommy roles as according to her brothers it was a safe zone of modelling for her. “Luckily it turned out to be a mighty successful niche for me and since I did not have any high aspirations of joining the film industry I did not mind the mommy tag at all,” she says with a smile.

Currently Amrita is to be seen on TV enthralling children and parents alike with her healthy and easy to cook recipes. She hosts the Mummy Ka Magic on FoodFood Channel.

Cooking at an early age

Amrita is a small town girl. She grew up in Jamshedpur. She lost her father when she was three and a half years old and remembers her mother as a single parent doing both — working and managing home. Her mother was an amazing cook and it is from her early years that Amrita developed her love for cooking.

Being a sardarni, I have always been a foodie and started cooking since I was eight years old. My first meal was Daal, Chawal, Aloo ka Bhujiya and Tamatar Ki Chutney. Since then I have been cooking, first for my brothers and mother and then husband, in-laws and now my son. With Mummy Ka Magic, cooking remains not just my passion but profession too. I recently did an advance course in Culinary Arts from one of the most renowned Culinary Schools In Asia, at-sunrise Global Chef Academy in Singapore which indeed has added to my prowess.

Amrita finished her schooling from the convent school of Mount Carmel, followed by Lawrence School, Sanawar. She attended St.Xaviers College in Mumbai and went on to do Marketing Management from NMIMS. While in College her stint with modelling started.

Mummy Ka Magic

With its 10^th season on air, Mummy Ka Magic is about delectable-looking yet nutritious dishes for children. “I usually cook up three recipes in every episode which is mostly a combination of a snack, a main course and a dessert,“ she says.

The show has been running for four years and each season comprises 13 episodes. The show has won many awards too. The story behind how Amrita started Mummy Ka Magic is very interesting.

It was Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and his wife who dropped in on Amrita one day and offered her a cookery show for kids for his upcoming new channel, FoodFood! “Now it was one thing to try out fun things at home for my son but doing it for millions of kids out there was a different ballgame altogether. However, I finally succumbed to Chef Kapoor’s persuasion and his conviction that if there was anyone who can do it, it’s me. And that was the beginning of my journey as a chef.”

A couple of years into the show now, Amrita cherishes all the love and acceptance she has received from her audience. “This is what I want to be, a chef! I have a lot of plans and ideas and I am sure my fans will definitely have a lot to look forward to.”

Never give in

“Never Give In, was the motto of our Lawrence School, Sanawar and since then it has been my motto too.” This is probably the reason Amrita has achieved what she set out to. She has a successful modelling career where she was comfortable playing a mother. She took to cooking and wants to be a well-known chef and is now pursuing that goal in right earnest.

However, she has had her fair share of challenges too such as the first ever shoot of Mummy Ka Magic.

It has been my toughest and the most challenging experience so far. I remember I took three days to finish the 1st episode and at one point I truly felt like giving up as I thought it was just not my cup of tea. However not being one to give in to defeat so easily I garnered all my strength, my confidence from my modelling days. I decided to be myself and let things flow naturally and voila things fell in place. After that day I started doing three episodes in a day.

At the personal front too, she has been a family oriented person and enjoyed being part of a large family. “I always wanted to live in a joint family which I do and have lots of people around me. My family is my biggest support system; in fact they are my lifeline.

I have loved their support and appreciation. Even today my son absolutely loves the fact that I can make amazing stuff for him and I think deep down I am taking a much stronger plunge into becoming a chef as making my son happy is the ultimate goal of my life now,” says this doting mother, wife, daughter and daughter-in-law.

The Ad world

Amrita’s connect with the audience has been instant, be it via advertisements or as a TV host. “I think what has been my winning streak is my honest connect that I have with the audience. I only know this because each and every person who I meet gives me the same feedback. I think right from my modelling days people have loved my screen presence and that has grown since as I host a show of my own and I get to connect with everyone not as some unknown character but as me, Amrita Raichand,” she says with a smile.

Speaking of the changes the ad world has undergone she shares how things have changed in the industry. These days’ film stars and cricketers are leading the roost and endorsing everything. “Somehow that makes me feel bad for all the lovely faces around who just don’t get the opportunity to do anything substantial specially in modelling. Earlier the brand and the ad was the hero, today it is mostly about the endorsers and the quality of the ad in most cases takes a back seat.”

Me time

Amrita’s time is split between her family and shoots but she does find time for herself too.

I love dancing and used to do Bharatnatyam for a very long time till the lack of a good teacher in this commercial city of Mumbai disheartened me and I decided not to pursue it anymore. I love hanging out with my friends, and like most women love shopping too. And I love losing myself in the pages of a good book.

Future beckons

I am working on my you tube channel and aim to have some exciting content on it.

I am currently doing a special project with Inter Continental which will be out soon. One space I truly wish to explore would be associating with food communities and markets and maybe travel along with food. I do miss doing commercials and I am hoping to start endorsing some great brands again, this time however, as a Chef.

(Amrita’s pictures on the sets of Mummy Ka Magic, photo credit -FoodFood Channel)