Australian chef, restaurateur and MasterChef Australia favourite Sarah Todd

Some chefs cook with ingredients. Some cook with technique. And then there are chefs who cook with memories. Australian Masterchef favourite Sarah Todd has spent years doing exactly that… allowing India to seep into her culinary vocabulary until its flavours, people, stories and sheer energy became an inseparable part of her own identity.

For Sarah Todd, India was never simply another destination on a culinary map. Her first encounter with the country opened the door to a world of spices, regional traditions, extraordinary produce and, perhaps most importantly, a culture where food is woven into everyday life. What began as curiosity evolved into a deep personal and professional connection. From opening her own restaurant in Goa to returning repeatedly to India through food, travel, television and collaborations, Sarah Todd has built a deep relationship with the country that continues to evolve.

Her journey has taken her from the kitchens of Australia to the cameras of MasterChef Australia, from restaurants and cookbooks to culinary adventures across India. Yet today, she seems less interested in labels and more interested in curiosity. Her cooking brings together the freshness and simplicity of her Australian sensibility with the layered flavours, spice, nostalgia and emotion that India has taught her to embrace.

And that philosophy comes alive beautifully in her latest Mumbai collaboration with Dewar’s and House of Akina. At a special culinary evening at House of Akina, Bandra, Sarah presented a magical one-night-only dining experience on 1 October, in association with Dewar’s. Sarah’s specially curated four-course menu brought together her Australian roots, her longstanding connection with India and the flavours she encountered through her travels, alongside a specially crafted Dewar’s cocktail pairing menu.

The menu, by the way, was a delicious exercise in memory and imagination… kokum, Madras coconut gravy, East Indian bottle masala, Junglee Maas, curry leaves, peanut podi and even Coca-Cola ice cream finding their way into a culinary conversation that is playful without being gimmicky. It was Sarah Todd’s India: familiar yet unexpected, rooted yet restless, and always open to discovery.

In this exclusive conversation with Sumita Chakraborty, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, TheGlitz, Australian MasterChef favourite Sarah Todd talks about her latest collaboration with House of Akina, the India that changed her, the flavours and memories that continue to influence her cooking, her journey beyond the MasterChef kitchen, and why she is increasingly drawn to food that tells a story.

Over To Australian chef, restaurateur and MasterChef Australia favourite Sarah Todd

You first came to India as a young chef and over the years, India has become such an important part of your culinary identity. What was it about India its food, people or culture that stayed with you so deeply?

I think it was the whole experience of India. It wasn’t just food. It was the people, the energy, the generosity, and the way food is so much a part of everyday life here. When I first came to India, everything felt new to me. There were so many flavours and ingredients I hadn’t really worked with before, and I loved that. But what really stayed with me were the memories around the food the people I met, the stories behind dishes, and the way meals bring people together. I still feel like every time I come back to India, I learn something new.

You’ve moved between Australia and India, restaurants, television, cookbooks and now a new generation of culinary collaborations. How has your idea of yourself as a chef evolved through these different chapters?

It’s changed quite a lot. I think when I was younger, I felt like I had to define myself as a particular kind of chef. Now I don’t really think about it that way. Every experience has added something. Restaurants taught me discipline, television taught me how to communicate, cookbooks made me think more deeply about the stories behind food, and travelling has probably been the biggest influence of all.

Now I am much more interested in being curious. I don’t feel like I have to fit into one box. I can take a little bit from Australia, a little bit from India, something from my travels and just see where it takes me.

Indian food has influenced your cooking enormously, but you’ve never simply tried to replicate Indian cuisine. How do you take an Indian flavour, memory or technique and translate it through your own Australian culinary lens?

I think it starts with being respectful of where something comes from. I am not trying to recreate an Indian dish and say, “This is how it should be.” That’s not really my place. Instead, I’ll take a flavour or an ingredient that I’ve connected with and think about how I naturally cook with it.

My cooking will always have that Australian influence because that’s where I grew up. I love fresh produce, simplicity and letting an ingredient speak for itself. India has taught me about layers of flavour, spices and how much emotion can sit inside a dish. So it’s about bringing those two worlds together in a way that feels authentic to me.

We are excited for your return to India with Dewar’s this time, for this special dinner at House of Akina. What does Mumbai mean to you as a food city, and is there a particular taste, dish or food memory from Mumbai that you can never resist?

Mumbai is such an exciting food city because it feels like the whole world exists within it. There are so many communities, cultures and influences coming together, and you can see that reflected in the food. What I love most is that Mumbai food has such a strong sense of place. There’s this beautiful combination of coastal flavours, spice, street food, old family recipes and influences that have travelled into the city over generations.

I’m always drawn to those flavours that feel nostalgic and familiar but still have something unexpected about them. Coming back to Mumbai for this dinner with Dewar’s and House of Akina feels particularly special because the menu itself is inspired by that idea of travel, memories and bringing different influences together.

Your Dewar’s Discoveries menu at House of Akina brings together kokum, Madras coconut gravy, East Indian bottle masala, Junglee Maas, curry leaves, peanut podi and even Coca-Cola ice cream. How do you decide when an unexpected combination works and when does experimentation go too far?

I think the key is balance. An unexpected combination works when there is still a connection between the flavours, even if the pairing initially seems surprising. I always want the food to make sense when you taste it, rather than simply being unusual for the sake of being unusual. For this menu, we have taken familiar ingredients and memories and looked at them from a slightly different perspective.

Kokum, coconut, bottle masala, curry leaves and peanut podi all have such strong identities on their own, so the challenge is finding a way to bring them together without losing what makes each of them special. The Coca-Cola ice cream is a good example of bringing in something playful and nostalgic. Food should surprise you, but it should also make you smile and want to take another bite.

You became a familiar face to Indian audiences through MasterChef Australia. What did that experience teach you about cooking for an audience versus cooking for the people sitting across your table?

MasterChef taught me a lot about connecting with people through food. When you are cooking for television, you obviously know there is an audience watching, but at the end of the day, you still have to cook food that feels like you. I think people connect with the story behind a dish just as much as the dish itself.

Why did you choose that ingredient? Where did the idea come from? Is there a memory attached to it? That’s something I really enjoy about dinners like this one. You are sitting across from people, you can see their reaction, you can talk to them. It becomes much more personal.

After years of restaurants, travel, television and cookbooks, what excites you about food today? Are you still chasing new flavours and techniques, or have you become more interested in simplicity, memories and the stories behind what we eat?

I am definitely still curious. I don’t think that part of me will ever go away. but I think my definition of what is exciting has changed. Earlier in my career, I was probably more focused on discovering something completely new. Now, I find as much excitement in taking something familiar and looking at it differently.

Memories and stories are becoming increasingly important to me. A dish doesn’t necessarily need to be complicated to be interesting. Sometimes the simplest food, when it is connected to a place or a person, can be the most meaningful. I think that balance between curiosity and simplicity is something I am exploring more in my cooking now.

You have built a life around food, travel and adventure. When you are not being Sarah Todd the chef no kitchen, no cameras, no restaurant, no deadlines what does your perfect day look like?

Honestly, I’m quite simple when it comes to time off. I love being outdoors, discovering something new, finding really good coffee and, most importantly, not having anywhere I need to be. And then, of course, ending up around a table with good food and good people. Because so much of my life revolves around food and work, I really value those slower moments when I get some time to myself.

It doesn’t always have to be a big adventure or a carefully planned trip. Sometimes it’s just a beautiful place, a long lunch, a bit of sunshine, and great company. That’s usually more than enough for me.

TheGlitz Take

Australian MasterChef Sarah Todd’s India story is a reminder that sometimes the most transformative journeys are the ones we don’t plan. She came to India as a young Australian chef and found far more than flavours… she found inspiration, belonging, curiosity and a whole new way of understanding food.

At House of Akina, that journey comes full circle. Her cooking doesn’t attempt to copy India; it converses with it — bringing Australian simplicity to Indian memories, spices and stories. And perhaps that’s the real magic: staying curious enough to let a place change you.

TheGlitz says: The best chefs don’t just create dishes. They collect experiences… and Australian Masterchef Sarah Todd has turned her Indian journey into one delicious story.