``I first said no to the show because it didn't go with my profile, but then I got involved in more than one way,'' he grins, and the rest, though not quite history yet, has made him a forerunner of sorts in India's elaborate culinary field. For instance, he launched a website last October, where you can pick up cooking tips, history of Indian food, recipes and more. Then, there's a CD-ROM, an encyclopedia of lesser known Indian foods in-the-compiling, and some heavy-duty touring to promote the ``Indian food of today, without complicating the cooking technique.''

The book, priced at Rs 250, is quite a treasure-chest, with over 120 easy-to-cook traditional Indian recipes. Kapoor, in fact, calls it an ``extension of the show'', which incidentally, has been running for six years. There are lucid, step-by-step preparations listed for each dish, with chef's advice thrown in at the end. ``The recipes may not be new, but they are written in the way I would like to cook them, or teach them,'' asserts Kapoor, who started his career with ITDC 15 years ago.

He absolutely insists he had no idea that he'd become a chef, leave alone a celebrity one, at least not until he had his hotel management degree in hand. ``Once you get popular, it's easy to make stories about how you knew you'd be in this profession since you were two years old, but I'd be lying if I said I did,'' he says. Instead, he'd wanted to be an architect, though he grew up in (and married into) a family of cooks, used to watching his dad and mom potter around in the kitchen.

One thing he did know and understand was his adventurous spirit and penchant for all things creative. ``Creation means a lot to me,'' says the 34-year-old, who invents new recipes almost everyday. ``I feel it's very easy (this with all due modesty). You should have your basics right and know what you're playing with, and keep it simple.'' Mantra one for aspirants. Freedom from fuss and clutter is what he always strives for, and ``that is the guiding factor in anything I do.''

So whether it's his two-year-old private firm, Khana Khazana, which offers culinary expertise to MNCs and hoteliers, or his two restaurants Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana in Dubai and London, or his new book, simplicity is the key. As of now, he has only a ``one-point mission'' which he is working steadily towards. `` I want to see that Indian food becomes the number one cuisine of the world.'' Cheers to that, chef!