Murrad Gillani and his venture ‘Dezato’ have become the talk of the town in the past recent times. He is a self-taught chef who believes that passion is all you need to pursue your dreams and career. Chef and dessert-aficionado Murrad Gillani hosted Sunday for a fabulous brownie-making day, where we spent time learning more about the chef, his world of vibrant food and not to forget the electrical scooter.
How come you decided to pursue a career in the culinary field and how has the experience been so far?
I think my experience has been fantastic given the amount of love that I’ve been shown from people. What brought me into this industry wasn’t my view of business but food has been my biggest security in life. It has been my one constant. I think food is a form of art and love and I absolutely love to enjoy cooking, to eat and I want to celebrate food. I want people to celebrate food. There is nothing better than food.
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What is the most bizarre thing in your fridge right now?
The most bizarre thing in my fridge right now. There is nothing bizarre. My fridge is pretty organized. So, you wouldn’t find anything bizarre there.
What is one thing you kept getting wrong until you got it right?
I think what I keep getting wrong is when I try to imitate a recipe. Whenever I try to do something original that is the only time I get it the right the first time. And that’s what food is all about. It’s about experimenting and not following the rules.
Can we have a healthy relationship with food?
I think we certainly can. Food is something very nice. It is the soul of your body. I did not have a very good relationship with food and that’s the irony. I have a hate and love relationship with food. I know hate is a strong word, I don’t mean it literally but a few years ago I started to develop this eating disorder Bulimia. And that was because I was very insecure. I was taunted about my weight because I was a very overweight child and I think it starts from your own house how people make you feel about food and your body that has a huge role to play but the food itself is the best thing to have a relationship with it’s a one constant and it is an absolute form of love
What is one dish you can cook again and again and not get bored?
I don’t think I’m allowed to cook that one dish but for my family, something they absolutely love is the chicken chili dry I make or the lasagna. So, yeah I think it’s that and I also really like to cook those things.
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What snacks do you carry in your bag?
If I had to carry them around I would need a huge suitcase. I mostly have my snacks in the car. And the snacks I absolutely love are junk food. So, it’s Doritos, pringles, a lot of biscuits, wafers. I absolutely love junk food.
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How come you own a scooter?
So, this is my ride. This is what gets me to places. I do my grocery shopping on this. I shop on this. I take it to like very long distances and I absolutely love it.
When did you start Dezato?
I started Dezato exactly four months ago from today. I am extremely proud that I did that. I absolutely love ice cream. I even have an ice cream tattoo on my hand. I eat ice cream 5-6 times in a single day. And I’m just trying to get it to places. I just want to feed people my ice cream. And I think it is the most joyous thing that has happened to me as a chef.
Do you plan to publish any cookbooks in the future?
I actually do. I keep writing down recipes. I have this folder that I’m trying to create but that is a bit later in life, not that far, I think 2-3 years down the road. And I definitely see it on bookshelves.
Where do you stand on the topic of body positivity?
It is very important to be body positive, especially in times like these when we see there is a lot of bullying and fat-shaming but I would also like people to not be delusional. They should look out for themselves. Being overweight is not an issue but if you are overweight to an unhealthy level then that is definitely an issue but that does not obviously give people the right to call you out for that. It’s none of their businesses. But I’m just trying to say look out for yourselves. You get your life once. Live it fully and live it happily.
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Who is Murrad Gillani outside the kitchen?
I don’t know who Murrad Gillani is but I do know like what Murrad Gillani likes. So I basically spend most of my day thinking about what outfits I want to wear. I keep deciding. I do like four different outfits every day. And for every place that I want to go to I make sure I change an outfit and then I love taking pictures like people know that about me by now. So like with each outfit I take like a 100 pictures and then I choose them. Other than that I am out of the house either I’m working for Dezato or my new venture since I’m expanding. But I’m always out. I’m chilling with friends. I do not like to be home. I’m very extroverted. And I’m mostly also thinking about food. What will my next meal be like?
What is your new venture?
So my next venture, I’m glad you guys asked. My next venture is called Fried. So now it’s Dezato which means dessert and Fried will be for savory, for deep-fried comfort foods and that is opening up soon. So stay tuned for that also.
Don’t forget to watch the full interview and a full recipe of gooey, fudgy Belgian Chocolate Brownies on our Youtube Channel.