Masterchef opens restaurant but he’s not moving to Joburg from Durban
CONSTRUCTING his own menu has been a dream come true for South Africa’s very first MasterChef.
And in so doing, Deena Naidoo included some of the delectable dishes he produced at the MasterChef competition for his very own restaurant, Aarya.
“It’s a little unreal, such an honour, a dream come true,” he said.
The Durban chef opened the doors to his new restaurant in Montecasino last week.
He decided to name it after his 10-year-old daughter, Aarya, he says.
Naidoo added that food lovers would experience what his cooking was all about by visiting his restaurant.
“My passion for food, my influences, my love of combining spices and flavours are all reflected in the menu.
“It’s an amalgamation of all my experiences and influences.
“There are certain types of food that made sense to carry over into the new menu – like pizza, because we have a beautiful wood-fired pizza oven in the kitchen, but the pizza creations are new and are mine,” he said.
“Some dishes may be familiar to regulars, but they’ve been given a Deena twist.
“In other cases, we’ve taken some of the dishes that won a particular challenge on MasterChef and changed them to make them suitable for service in a restaurant.”
Naidoo said his restaurant would offer sophisticated, yet recognisable food.
“We wanted to offer food that people love and recognise, like a burger.
“But this is not just any burger, it’s a grilled Karan beef burger with avocado, roasted onions, melted Emmental cheese, thick cut French fries, served on an Italian ciabatta roll. It’s delicious!”
Since Naidoo will be in charge of the restaurant for two years, he has decided against moving to Joburg.
“I will be here in Joburg as often as my work and family commitments in Durban allow.”
Naidoo disputed claims that he felt let down by the organisers of MasterChef, who only gave him two years in charge of the restaurant.
“Nowhere else in the world has a MasterChef winner been given the opportunity to become a professional chef – with no training, no experience and nothing more than their passion and love for food,” said Naidoo.