At a glance…
- MasterChef Australia alumna Depinder Chhibber is joining The Australian Women’s Weekly as a food contributor.
- Depinder’s traditional Indian cuisine wowed the judges and Australians.
- She returned for MasterChef: Back to Win and earned fourth place.
- She joins fellow contestant Laura Sharrad as a food contributor for The Weekly.
To her surprise, Depinder Chhibber’s traditional Indian cooking wowed the MasterChef Australia judges, and she returned for Back To Win to claim fourth place. Now she’s bringing her flavour-packed food to the Test Kitchen!
Depinder, welcome to The Weekly! We first met you in 2021, when you appeared in Season 13 of MasterChef Australia. Tell us about your cooking style and food aspirations back then.
Depinder: I was thinking, “I’m going to be doing all these French recipes that I’ve been learning”, but when the challenges started coming, I saw myself leaning back on dishes from my heritage. I did not expect to do as much Indian food in my first season.
For some reason, I was hesitating to cook it. During one of the challenges, [judge] Jock [Zonfrillo] came up and said, “You’ve just got to do your Indian food. You do not understand how powerful that will be.” He also said, “Don’t hesitate to punch in more flavour.” Every time I did that, it ended up being a top dish. It gave me a lot of confidence in my simple, daily Indian food.
Can you share a childhood food memory of watching your mother, aunties and grandmother cook in those busy kitchens in New Delhi?
We had a really big family in Delhi. We used to live in a joint family situation. My grandparents lived on the ground floor, then my dad had three brothers. One was in the US, but the other lived on the third floor, and we lived on the second floor, and my grandfather’s brother lived on the first floor with his entire family.
If Mum made something we didn’t like, we’d go downstairs to see what the others had made. So, I’d go to my grandmother and say, “I’ll take that for tonight.” I always found myself gravitating towards the kitchen.
You were 11 when you swapped New Delhi for Newcastle, can you remember your early impressions of Australian food?
I used to love lamingtons. I’d never tried them before. We’d walk to Coles and get the lamingtons in plastic trays, and walk back and would just be eating them. We used to get really excited when we went to the only Indian takeaway shop in Newcastle because that was familiar food. Not having that much Indian food is what pushed me and my mum to try and replicate those recipes.
What did you learn working for MasterChef Australia judge Andy Allen at his restaurant, Three Blue Ducks?
I knew I wanted to open a supper club, but I had no kitchen experience. Andy said, “Come and see me”. We had a really nice conversation, and he was like, “Do you want to start here?” That same day I found out I was pregnant. I came up to him, and I just cried. He said, “This is the best news; why are you crying?”
I worked there for a few months. I got really good exposure there to the other side of hospitality, which I never had. I said, “Start me at the bottom of the food chain.” I was chopping two kilos of onions a day, but they were so respectful. It was really nice.
You were a guest on MasterChef India. How did that come about?
MasterChef Australia is a really big deal in India. After my season, I got a call from the producer; he was like. “You have no idea how many people are asking about you.” They [MasterChef India] invited six chefs, and I was one of them. We were each paired with a contestant, and they had to be the head chef, and we were the sous chefs.
You came fourth in MasterChef: Back To Win in a tough field. Was it different the second time around?
Coming back was really scary initially. You have all these people who have really made it and are professional chefs. People would ask me, “What have you done since your last season?” I was like, “I’ve had kids.” Yeah, I run a supper club, but it’s not like owning restaurant businesses. So, I was quite intimidated. I had to just do what I know, and I was fine.
Did becoming a mother to your two young daughters change your approach to cooking at all?
One hundred per cent. First of all, I’m putting food up on the table; I’ve got a baby and a toddler hanging off each leg. So, I was always under pressure when it came to cooking. It made me strong as a person. Mentally strong. I don’t think I was there in my first season. Motherhood brought about those mental changes. I could work under pressure.
What can we expect from your food at The Weekly?
There’s so much I want to showcase. I feel like there’s a little bit of a gap when it comes to food from the Indian subcontinent and traditional home food. I want people to get comfortable looking at these recipes and thinking, “Okay, we can make this.”
I’m trying to simplify it, to make sure people can do these with staples. They don’t have to go to a speciality store or an Indian shop.
I don’t want them to look at an Indian recipe, get intimidated and flip the page. Everyone makes dumplings at home. Everyone makes Thai curries. I want Indian food to become a part of people’s dinner plans.
What’s Depinder Chhibber’s first recipe with The Weekly?
Depinder’s first recipe is a richly spiced chicken and mushroom curry, with a garlic butter pastry top.
“This recipe combines the best of both worlds: my go-to chicken and mushroom curry, and all the crispy, buttery pastry goodness I love from a pie!,” Depinder said of the dish.
Find the recipe here and watch Depinder make her ultimate chicken curry pot pie recipe below.
See Depinder Chhibber’s masterclass
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This interview originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
