Strawberry mousse with a mini singing chef

It’s 3pm and I’m en route from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to meet Jehan Razdan. She’s a mini masterchef of sorts.

She’s just wrapped up eight days of cooking demos at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) and I heard that during one of her demos, she used an apple as a prop to relay the tale of Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity.

Unlike her male counterpart, Gordan Ramsay, expletives aren’t her forte; quirky explanations are. She’s less F-word, more fun facts. That’s her USP. I’m intrigued to meet her.

Our interview is scheduled for 4.30pm but at 4.23pm, I’m on my third lap of her building, desperately searching for a parking spot. Finally I find a space, but in my haste to pull in, I clip the curb. It’s fine, my car may be scratched but I won’t be late. Phew!

With around four minutes to spare, I hurriedly enter the building. Then obstacle number two hits. The security guard stops me in my tracks.

As I give him my name and her flat number, he reciprocates with a blank stare. I repeat the phrase three times, and still, a look of confusion remains on his face. The breakdown in communication begins to agitate me. All I can hear in my head is ‘tick tock, tick tock’. I’m definitely going to be late now.

Then I snap. “I’m here to see Jehan.” Thankfully, the name registers (she must be a bit of a celebrity around these parts). Finally, he lets me past and ushers me towards the lift.

I land up at her front door, 20 floors up, about 10 minutes late. If I flash a big smile I’m sure they’ll forgive my tardiness. As the door opens, a family member greets me. Jehan is nowhere in sight. I’m told she’s taking a nap.

Now, in any normal circumstance, that would be galling to hear, especially given my curb clipping/security guard dodging antics just minutes before to avoid being late. But Jehan gets a pass. She’s just five years old. A full day in school followed by a media interview can take its toll on someone so little; I get it, she needs her beauty sleep. I quite enjoy the idea of hearing it too. It carries an air of ‘diva’ status, but for all the right reasons. Like the food Jehan is well known for, this mini cook needs time to perfect herself too. Preparation — which is sleep in Jehan’s case — is essential if you want a great end product.

Not long passes when the star of the show appears. Dressed in a navy sparkly dress complete with gold bangles and a necklace, she’s ready for action.

At first, she’s quite shy. Sitting in a big purple chair with her legs swinging inches from the floor, she reacts to every question with a big, but silent, smile. I start to wonder if I’ll have enough content to write a column.

After a brief warming up period, she kicks into action. And after 90 minutes in her company, a great end product is exactly what I get with Jehan. That nap worked wonders.

Inspiring thousands of would-be gourmets to don an apron and roll up their sleeves, this mini chef has more than 24,000 subscribers of her YouTube channel. And last year, she became the star of her very own TV show, ‘Jehan’s Kitchen’.

Giving me a tour of her live show kitchen in the front lounge, she lets me in on a little secret.

“Actually Ms Kelly, we don’t cook here, we just prepare the food. This cooker isn’t even real. That’s where we do the real cooking,” she says, pointing to the family kitchen. Her honesty is comical. We all (her mother, father and myself) laugh.

On today’s menu we have date balls and strawberry mousse, because “pink is awesome,” obviously. Sweet treats are definitely her favourite, she tells me. Savoury, not so much.

Climbing up onto her little step (she’s too small to reach the counter without it), I ask where her chef’s hat is. With a wiggle of her finger in a ‘no’ motion, she points to her headband.

“Oh, you wear a princess crown, not a hat,” I say, but I’m immediately corrected. “No, no, this is a queen’s crown.”

As I offer my apologies for getting the two mixed up, she laughs. This girl may only be five, but she definitely has her wits about her. Her timing and responses to questions are perfect.

At one point, I ask what her favourite meal is and she goes on a tangent, telling me about her naughty friend in school. She answers my questions like a fiveyear-old. She’s unrehearsed and that’s what makes her a star.

As she begins mixing dates, sugar and nuts for the date balls, the room falls silent as we all watch on. Out of nowhere, she makes a suggestion.

“Let me sing a song, that will make the mixing part not so boring. Do you want to hear it?”

And of course, we all respond with a resounding “yes”. She proceeds:

‘Squishy, squashy, mix together. Make this taste so good and yummy. I’m going to do it so, so tasty. Squishy squashy squish.’

And she’s right, it wasn’t boring! As she continues squishing and squashing the dates, I ask Jumana, her mother, how Jehan’s curiosity to cook came about. As an accomplished cook with her own TV show back in India, it’s a case of following in her mum’s footsteps.

“When she would see me on TV I think she wanted the spotlight on her. She always watched my shows and I guess wanted to be like me. She’s been helping ever since.”

But then we’re interrupted. The strawberry mousse is ready for tasting and we’re summoned. As Jehan pours the mousse into little pots, her dad wipes the drippy bits off the side, to which she responds with a casual “thank you, sweetie”.

Adding raspberries and mint leaves to the mousse, I respond with yet another foolish observation. “Ooh, lovely decorations.” Again, ‘the amateur’ (me), is corrected.

“You mean garnish. You decorate gingerbread men Ms Kelly, not mousse.” I laugh and make my apologies.

As I’m fed the date balls and strawberry mousse, there is no question Jehan lives up to her reputation not only as an accomplished cook — the food is delicious — but as a star with a huge stage presence.

Affection comes easy to her. She’s full of character — and compliments too. I highly recommend an afternoon with her, she’s the perfect pick-me-up.

Everything about me is “cool” to Jehan. My handbag; it’s great for shopping. My boots; a style she really approves of. And my necklace, it’s “jiggly and awesome”.

Nothing about her is scripted. What I enjoy most about my visit is the fact that she is a kid being a kid.

With a full belly, I say my goodbyes at the door and that’s when she comes out with yet another perfectly timed ‘Jehan quip’.

“Actually Ms Kelly, I quite like your hair. It’s an unusual colour but I think I’d like it on my head. It’s cool.” As casual as that!

If the cooking thing doesn’t work out in the future, there’s no doubting she’ll make a great PR girl.

I ask what her favourite meal is and she goes on a tangent, telling me about her naughty friend in school. She answers my questions like a five year old. She’s unrehearsed and that’s what makes her a star