Chef and author Helly Raichura and host, former City of Greater Bendigo mayor Jennifer Alden, with Mrs Raichura’s cookbook The Food of Bharat; A chef’s journey through India’s rich culinary history. Photos: Emily Donohoe.
From guest judging on MasterChef to headlining the Bendigo Writers Festival, Helly Raichura shared insights into her unique cookbook at Elmore library on Friday, August 15.
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Ms Raichura is the brains behind renowned Carlton North restaurant Enter Via Laundry and new book The Food of Bharat; A chef’s journey through India’s rich culinary history.
In conversation with former City of Greater Bendigo mayor Jennifer Alden, Mrs Raichura reflected on her culinary journey and the process of creating her book.
Helly Raichura shares insights into her culinary background with Jennifer Alden.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
After moving to Australia to study and landing a job in HR, Mrs Raichura’s career path changed when she rediscovered her love of cooking during maternity leave.
“You get that quick reward of working really hard, and then you’re presenting a dish,” she said.
“You can literally see people are happy with your food or not-so-happy, and you get addicted to that.
“At first, when I started, I was cooking the things that I had learnt from these fancy places ... but really, am I telling my story?
“I wanted to cook something that was an extension of myself.”
Sonya Linehan, Tammy Higgs, Wendy Cornell and Deidre Bowmeester attended the talk.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Mrs Raichura began hosting friends and family at her home, coming through her laundry to the dining room.
In time, Enter Via Laundry was born, a restaurant dedicated to regional Indian dishes, grounded in history.
It was at her Carlton North restaurant that Mrs Raichura entered the culinary Who’s Who, with her ‘Pasta Not Pasta’ dish capturing the attention of former MasterChef judge George Calombaris.
“He came to the restaurant, and he loved it and spread the word to the MasterChef kitchen,” she said.
“He said, ‘oh, we want to do an episode with you’.
“When I was in corporate jobs ... everyone was like, ‘hey, you love cooking, you should try and get on MasterChef one day’.
“Normally, I was like, ‘I’d go to MasterChef, only as a judge’. It actually happened.”
Lawrence and Frances Hall were among the attendees.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
This year, the accomplished chef released The Food of Bharat, bringing her MasterChef famous Pasta Not Pasta dish, among a string of others, to the pages.
The Food of Bharat pairs regional Indian recipes with an exploration into history, following the cuisine of India through time.
“Each recipe that I’ve got in there is telling you a story,” she said.
“It’s a little picture in time of what was happening in India at that time ... what is the soul of that recipe?
“It comes from somewhere, and I wanted to find that.”
Peter and Penny Morison and Marilyn Marell enjoyed the conversation.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Her recipes are achievable for the home cook, even if they are created by a The Age Good Food Guide hatted-chef.
“You can make it complicated if you wanted to,” Mrs Raichura.
“But simple, everyday cooking doesn’t have to be like that, so the book starts from very simple recipes.”
Mrs Raichura signs a copy of The Food of Bharat.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
After the discussion, attendees had the opportunity to chat with Mrs Raichura and purchase a signed copy of The Food of Bharat.
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