#ELLEGourmetCoverStar: How Neha Deepak Shah Made Vegetarian Food A Power Move

For someone now celebrated for making vegetarian food exciting, chef Neha Deepak Shah’s journey began with a twist of irony. In the second season of MasterChef India, the very thing she stands for today became the reason she was eliminated. It was a moment that stung deeply — not because she doubted her talent, but because she recognised how many Indians cooked exactly like her.

“My entire life, I’ve been a vegetarian…and in India, that’s not unusual at all. Thirty per cent of the population is vegetarian, and most non-vegetarians cook veg food at home every day,” she says. Yet at that moment, she was told that her food didn’t belong — simply because it didn’t include meat.

Instead of deterring her, the setback sharpened her sense of purpose. Shah walked away with a resolve to pursue cooking on her own terms — not less ambition, just more grounded.

Finding Her Own Way

On Neha Deepak Shah: Ivory whisper dress by Nehha Nhata Official. Tennis bracelets, Clover studs, and a diamond ring, all by Amulakhh. Vegan glitter stilettos by Megleo Official. Cooking Partner: Rotimatic®

Shah’s love for food began early, nurtured in a family that cherished cooking, but it was never treated as a career path. “As an academically gifted student, I excelled in math and science. Unsurprisingly, like most Indian households, my parents encouraged engineering or medicine, not culinary school,” she recalls.

She eventually pursued Food Science and Technology and became a flavourist — a rare and technical role, with only about 600 flavourists worldwide at the time. The job was structured and precise, but her curiosity for cooking persisted. 

What changed everything was moving alone to Delhi from Mumbai. Independence became the gateway to experimentation. She’d call her mother or nani for recipes, dive into her mother’s 150+ Tarla Dalal books, and cook so much she had to feed colleagues just to avoid waste.

“They loved the food,” she says. “They encouraged me to participate in MasterChef India.”

Two eliminations later, season four became her breakthrough — first runner-up, and finally seen on her own terms. 

“What people see as success is only the tip of the iceberg,” she reflects.

Making Cooking Joyful, Accessible And Healthy 

Shah’s culinary philosophy is clear: recipes must work — for real kitchens, real budget, real lives. 

“In India, homemakers are frugal,” she explains. “You can’t tell them to make gnocchi with 17 imported ingredients. No one is going to try that.”

Her method — which she calls “localisation” — ensures dishes are replicable at home without sacrificing flavour or balance. “Trust builds when someone succeeds with even one recipe you share,” she says, “If it fails, they’ll call you out.”

Delhi shaped her early experiments — a vegetarian ravioli that hit all the right notes —, and her approach has since expanded to healthier versions of beloved dishes. “I used to think healthy food couldn’t be delicious, but that’s not true,” she says. “It’s all about balance and making flavours pop.”

Digital content amplified her reach. “You don’t need a fancy camera. Great lighting can make food come alive. We eat with our eyes first.”

On The Radar 

While grounded in Indian vegetarian cooking, Shah’s palate travels. Southeast Asian spice, Korean staples, Burmese influences in Northern Thailand — each informs her cooking without overpowering it. She remains curious about Taiwanese cuisine, regional Chinese food, and the many Indian cuisines she hasn’t yet explored. 

Her years running two vegetarian restaurants in Jaipur also shaped her approach: playful yet practical flavour combinations, like chocolate with blue cheese or sweet with spice. But her ambitions now point elsewhere.

Beyond The Plate

Restaurants, she says, are not on her horizon — at least for now. “It’s one of the hardest businesses in the world. A standalone restaurant being consistently profitable in India is very difficult,” she explains.

Her focus is on building a product line that reflects her audience and values, with content still at the core. “I want to share content differently — more wholesome, more meaningful, something that adds value to daily life.”

Cookbooks aren’t ruled out, but not yet. Right now, she’s refining her next act — making vegetarian cooking a gateway, not a limitation.

Quick Fires:

Kitchen Nickname: Baddie 

Comfort Dish After A Long Day: Bowl of noodles or khichdi 

Favourite Ingredient Right Now: Chocolate 

Favourite Drink: Nimbu pani

Food Trend You Wish Would Disappear: Things like Fanta Maggi, Oreo pakoda

If Not A Chef, You Would Be: I would go back to my corporate career 

Dream City To Open A Restaurant: Dubai 

If You Were A Dish, You Would Be: Pani puri 

Favourite Song On Loop: Hona Tha Pyar by Atif Aslam 

Favourite Movie: Kal Ho Naa Ho

Your 3 A.M. Speed Dial Person: My husband 

Editorial Director: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Digital Editor: Isha Mayer; Photographer: Vijit Gupta; Creative Director & Creative Producer: Priyadarshini Patwa; Stylist: Jainee Bheda; Art Director: Jangu Sethna; Jr. Graphic Designer: Divya Pande (cover design); Hair and Make-up: Florian Hurel Hair Couture and Spa; Assisted by: Jainam Gogri (styling), Eshita Mohan (art), Vaishnavi Rana (editorial); Executive Producer: Aanchal Jain; Production: Nafromax Productions