State: VIC

Age: 37

Occupation: IT Project Manager

As Sandeep explains it, like any ancient culture, food has been central to everything he knows growing up a Kashmiri Pandit. With a large family of close uncles and cousins, mealtimes were big affairs. The family would sit down together on huge carpets, feasting and laughing around dishes, which often included lamb, lentils and vegetables.

Born in Kashmir in the early 1980s, Sandeep spent eight years there with his family before militancy forced them south, leaving all their possessions and migrating to Bangalore in 1990. It was here Sandeep’s passion for cooking grew. The family didn’t have a fridge so his Mum taught him how to cook dahl without having it stick to the hotplate, and how to boil food to prevent it spoiling.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration, Sandeep married his wife Prahalika in 2009 and the couple were joined by son Siddhant the following year.

In 2016 Sandeep made the move to Australia for work, with his young family joining him two years later.

A big fan of early seasons of MasterChef Australia while living in Bangalore, Sandeep says he is most confident in the kitchen using spices, hopeful of eliciting a drop of sweat from George Calombaris’ head this season.

With his background in chemical engineering, Sandeep hopes to see the legendary Heston Blumenthal walk through the MasterChef kitchen doors, enjoying his technical and molecular way of cooking.

He’d like to one day open a food stall selling Indian BBQ meat cooked over coals and biryani dishes. Through his blog he also hopes to preserve the ancient recipes from his Kashmiri culture and showcase other cultures.

It’s a passion which started as a child and hasn’t wavered - for Sandeep cooking is his life. It’s his way to show happiness, sadness and joy - his ultimate way to unwind.