Arancini (Italian rice balls), semiya parfait, strawberry almond cake, chicken popcorn... the menu is always scrumptious and ever-changing in the Morcha house. The chef who whips up these delectable dishes is Tanishq R Morcha, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. It all started with him being his mother Veena Viswanathan's trusted helping hand in the kitchen, helping her peel and cut veggies. But when the mothership started noticing that her child was gravitating more towards cooking shows and YouTube channels like FoodFood rather than cartoons, she knew that mischief is afoot. Now, he is 11 years old and doesn’t just have an Instagram page (@w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.d) but also his own YouTube channel by the name Wonderfud, both of which were started during the lockdown last year. The boy wonder was also recognised by the legendary Chef Sanjeev Kapoor during the latter's social media contest #BachpanSeChef recently.
"Whenever he is angry or upset, cooking calms him. Since following routines gives peace to kids on the autism spectrum, cooking has that effect on him. But even when his dish doesn't go as planned, he doesn't get agitated. He tries to salvage it. Like this one time when he tried to make confetti donut cake and things started going downhill. The frosting was ready so he turned that into laddus," says Veena who we speak to instead of the very elusive Tanishq. Though all the social media pages are run by his mother, it is the junior chef's skills on display everywhere. And it is very difficult to shoot him in action, mind you, she informs Veena. So she stands in a corner and tries to capture him in the best way possible. Using the DSLR they purchased for shooting videos was out of the question so, the phone had to do. Apart from churning out dishes from multinational cuisines, Tanishq, who is a student at Serene Institution of Autistic Care, Bengaluru, is also more than capable of preparing a humble meal, which he does pretty regularly at home.
"Now we learn that many of Tanishq's friends have started looking at his videos and cooking at home," informs Veena laughing. So what's next for her son? Junior MasterChef? "Honestly, he doesn't even know he has this social media presence so, in a way, it's good. Right now, cooking is a hobby for him and whether or not it turns into a profession, we don't know, but he will continue to have our support no matter what," she shares.
Simple Mountain Dew milkshake recipe from Tanishq
- Boil Mountain Dew to get a concentrate
- Take ice cream, chilled milk and the concentrate for a spin in the mixie
- On the other hand, melt white chocolate and apply it to the rim of a glass
- Crush nachos and sprinkle it over the white chocolate on the glass's rim
- Pour the milkshake into the glass from the mixie and it's ready!
For more on him check out instagram.com/w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.d
