Poonam Ribadia discusses her experience on “Secret Chef.”
Hulu’s “Secret Chef” is a reality cooking competition series created by chef David Chang that premiered in June of 2023. Hosted by a quirky, animated talking hat named Cheffy, contestants from all different backgrounds—including professional chefs, home cooks, and social media chefs—were asked to compete in a series of bizarre challenges and then rate each other’s dishes in blind taste tests. As someone who frequently watches cooking competitions like “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Next Level Chef” in her spare time, I found “Secret Chef” to be incredibly innovative and unique. Eager to learn more, I sat down with contestant Poonam Ribadia to discuss her experience on the show and her relationship with food as a whole.
Poonam Ribadia, whose alias on the series was “Chef Radicchio,” has recently emerged as a rising culinary figure after her experience on the show. She was scouted on Instagram during the COVID-19 lockdown, a period where she was using social media as a creative outlet to post and share her home cooking. Ribadia, who had never considered auditioning for a show, excitedly embraced this unexpected opportunity as a chance to not only get out of the house mid-pandemic, but also showcase her skills to millions of viewers.
On “Secret Chef,” Ribadia’s creativity and spice were some of her standout traits, and she frequently impressed the other contestants with her adaptability. She overcame challenges like cooking with a clothing steamer and shone in tasks like making her signature Indo-Chinese dish, Manchurian style paneer bao buns.
When asked about the significance of sharing her Indian heritage through her cooking on the show, she said, “While it was very important for me to showcase my culture, I realized the more I did so, the more I was giving away my identity.” Instead, she chose to incorporate various cultural influences into her cooking—including Korean and Nigerian cuisines—which highlighted her versatility and skill. As for her favorite part of the competition? “To be a part of something from inside David Chang’s brain and to meet him and eat a dish made by him was kind of the ultimate stan girl moment of my life,” she said.
Completely self-taught, her culinary journey began in her family kitchen, where Ribadia would assist with meal prep. When reminiscing on her early experiences, she cited her parents as her biggest influences.
“My parents are the ones who inspired me the most—they are both from two different cities in India and have different cooking styles with unique techniques and flavor profiles. So I learned from both of them and merged the styles into my own,” she said. This early exposure to the kitchen transitioned into a passion for cooking and, by the age of 10, Ribadia was already cooking independently for herself and her siblings.
Influenced by other chefs and culinary storytellers, Ribadia’s philosophy about cooking is deeply personal and emotional. One specific inspiration she mentioned was Joanne Lee Molinaro, known as “The Korean Vegan” on Instagram, who connects her food with life stories. Ribadia also believes in the sentimental and nostalgic power of food and tries to tie her creations to her experiences and relationships. She enjoys cooking foods that are labor-intensive like dumplings or pasta from scratch, not only because it’s therapeutic and repetitive, but because it feels more rewarding to put her time and energy into making something delicious. Her advice to aspiring chefs is simple—season and taste as you go.
“You don’t want to spend time and energy working on a dish and, at the end, realize you messed up along the way,” she said.
Because of her experience on “Secret Chef,” Ribadia realized the importance of being observant, discreet, and adaptable—both in the kitchen and in life.
“I used to think that I was in my own bubble, when really there are people constantly observing and keeping tabs on me. Also, sometimes less is more! You don’t always have to say everything that pops into your head,” she said. Looking ahead, Ribadia is interested in pursuing a career in the food space, particularly in food writing or food tech. Until then, she’s enjoying living her life in Brooklyn, New York and hopes to get her small business, Rekha’s Chai Co., up and running!
Poonam Ribadia’s culinary journey, from a home cook to a reality TV chef, exemplifies the power of passion, creativity, and embracing unexpected opportunities. Her advice to others, especially young women entering the professional world, is to be unapologetically themselves, be their own advocates, and to embrace challenges.
“It sounds corny, but you just have to believe in yourself, because at the end of the day, all you have is yourself,” she said.
Want to read more about her cooking experiences and behind-the-scenes stories from “Secret Chef”? Click here for our full interview transcript!