Explore the flavorful journey of Nayanjyoti Saikia from experimenting with dishes to winning MasterChef India S7
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MasterChef Nayanjyoti Saikia has made Assam proud with his culinary expertise at a national level. He has presented the flavors of Assam in a delicious manner that people couldn’t resist talking about Assamese food lately. He is a passionate cook and a traveler who loves collecting stories and flavors from every corner of the world.
Nayanjyoti Saikia was born in Tinsukia, Assam and did his schooling from Sumarjyoti Vidyalaya and Gyan Vigyan Academy, both in Dibrugarh, Assam. He started his journey as a amateur home cook mixing indigenous ingredients until the grand door of opportunities opened for him.
Engineering and hostel days
A young engineering undergraduate when forced to eat mess food in hostel, take matters into his own hands and cooks delicious meals for himself which later turned out to be a hidden passion which is ready to be explored.
Nayanjyoti Saikia was doing his engineering at Girijananda Chowdhury institute of management and technology when he first dreamt of starting cooking as a career. He started experimenting with several dishes in his mini kitchen and gradually started following cookery books to give those recipes his personal touch.
Dilemmas and convincing
In every young dreamer’s life there comes a part when it takes extra effort to convince the father. Nayanjyoti Saikia had to face the similar situation when his dad opposed his idea of changing his engineering profession. Nevertheless, his father’s eyes lit up with pride as he saw him wow the judges during their visit in the MasterChef Kitchen.
Not to forget it’s never easy to fight some societal stigmas related to cooking as a profession. The stereotype that the doors of a kitchen are only limited to a certain distance was proven wrong by him as he tackled every situation to chase his dreams.
How he started
After his graduation, Nayanjyoti Saikia moved to his home and started looking after his family business that is managing the tea gardens. While doing that, he started preparing new dishes with the available ingredients in his free time.
As the small town of Assam couldn’t provide him all the luxury ingredients from the recipe book, he started looking for substitute and in a way discovered many new dishes which were truly mouth watering and highly appreciated by his family. In the year 2020, he won the first prize in the northeast cooking championship.
Opportunities knocking on the door
Having a keen interest for photography, Nayanjyoti since his college days started uploading beautiful pictures of his creations on Instagram and other socials. He had his precious digital camera back then that helped him click aesthetic pictures of his self-cooked dishes.
It was in 2023, when chef Vikash Khanna found him though Instagram and came all the way to Tinsukia to find him. Nayanjyoti was called in for the MasterChef India auditions and after clearing the first round, Vikash Khanna visited his home to meet him and his family. An overwhelming feeling for a small town boy carrying biggest ambitions.
Master Chef Nayanjyoti Saikia
From experimenting with desserts and homemade wine to winning the heart of judges in MasterChef India season 7, Nayanjyoti proved to be an inspiration blooming with creativity. As an introvert and camera conscious person, it wasn’t easy for him to present his delicacies to the world and interact without any hesitation.
Nayanjyoti always tried to incorporate Assamese and northeastern flavors into his dishes and gradually wowed the judges with his special Duck meat dish in the finale that won him the title. It was a traditional Assamese dish with a twist of French and Asian flavors.
Roohani
He opened Roohani, his ideal restaurant, in Guwahati not too long ago. Roohani, which was open to the public on September 6, 2024, showcases an elaborate menu that has been carefully selected by MasterChef Nayanjyoti with touches of local cuisine, all while embracing the spirit of innovation and culinary skill.
The menu at Roohani features a wide variety of inventive meals that are well prepared to highlight the abundance of regional ingredients and the chef’s own flair. Every meal served at Roohani is evidence of Masterchef Nayanjyoti’s love of using food to tell stories.
Bottomline
The nation has been delighted with Nayanjyoti Saikia’s inspirational journey from Tinsukia, Assam, to being the winner of MasterChef India Season 7. His extraordinary culinary abilities and love of cooking carried him to victory.
Nayanjyoti is example of the ability to achieve one’s goals through hard work and determination. Saikia is going to be a big name in the realm of food for the not-too-distant future.
Rimjim Bora is a passionate researcher, writer, and storyteller. Being an Assamese, she feels the pride and enthusiasm for writing blogs and stories promoting Assam, Assamese culture, food, and lifestyle. Contact Rimjim at rimjim@diversityassam.com.
