After passing a series of challenges in the grand finale of Masterchef India 2023, Nayanjyoti Saikia from Assam emerged as the winner of the cooking reality show on Friday. The 26-year old home cook from Tinsukia won Rs 25 lakh worth of prize money along with a golden chef coat.

“I still cannot believe that I am holding the trophy. This feels great,” Nayanjyoti said after winning the competition.

Santa Sarmah, another contestant from Assam, became the first runner-up of the show, while Mumbai’s Suvarna Bagul ended her journey on MasterChef India 2023 as the second runner-up. Both received a cheque of Rs 5 lakh each.

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor joined the three judges of the competition — celebrity chefs Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, and Garima Arora — in the grand finale. He challenged the three finalists to prepare a 'signature three-course meal’ that would reflect their identity.

Nayanjyoti chose to represent his hometown Tinsukia in his platter. He prepared curried crab for starters, followed by an Assamese-style duck and presented a mixed berry sorbet for dessert.

“From now on, whenever people take your name, they will refer to you as MasterChef Nayanjyoti. Get used to it,” chef Garima told the home cook after the latter clinched the winner’s trophy.

During the auditions of MasterChef India 2023, chef Vikas Khanna went to Assam and brought Nayanjyoti along as a participant. The Michelin-star chef had seen Nayanjyoti’s cooking skills on Instagram and wanted him to be part of the competition. “I was so impressed by his vision and creativity and how he can turn food into art. He inspired me through his social media posts, so I decided that he was the right fit for MasterChef India," chef Vikas had said during the auditions.

Every episode of Masterchef India 2023, including Friday’s grand finale, was aired on SonyLIV at 9pm from Monday to Friday.