What makes someone a good chef?

This whole drama of will they or won't they (get married, of course, we are talking about Indian Television here) is going on for a while.

One of the possible reasons is given that SK wants a cookbook by Mehek's mother. That makes me wonder, if Mehek's cooking skills are only limited to producing recipes in that book to the T? If that is the case, she is just good at following instructions.

A good cook (chef) is not just good at repeatedly create same dish but also inventing new ones. Good cooking is as much an art as it is science where previous results can be precisely reproduced.

I also wonder how can Mehek win the competition based solely on that book as the competition kept on throwing surprises and her mom could not include all the possible permutations combination. So it means that book might be what started her journey but her skill is beyond a book.

You are so right lots of innovative recipes unique recipes and skills of making the dish presenting it with the capability of inviting the people with a glance only is needed.

But it was shown that Mehek has this capabilities of trying different dishes it is her love for cooking which makes her successful.
She did not win the competition but Shaurya gave a prize of encouragement after the slap.

stealing a recipe book after lots of dramas also does not make one a good chef hotelier or entrepreneur.

I will NOT talk about the cooking skills shown on the show😆, but i will talk about what was projected through writing. Mahek was always shown trying new ideas, not just her mother's recipes. Remember the crepe she tried from karela king's blog? The little things she learnt from her mother are the soul of her cooking and she uses that approach in anything she makes. Even when she faces setbacks, she thinks on her feet and comes up with new innovations (burnt garlic pulav and chicken in ISC). The food she makes is healthy too, along with being innovative. Her presentation was also praised on the show. Well, another contestant made panfried noodles with shrimp, which looked like 2min noodles with a shrimp on top, and the judges praised that presentation too😆. But as i said, i will just stick to what was portrayed than what my opinion is. So Mahek has all the raw talent. Planning and management will come with experience.

Nice post well said ..

For me a good chief is one who uses her/his own skills and mind in preparing innovative dish,thinking out of box. A dish which is never prepared by anyone and that too tasty .