Mae Chandran shares her culinary culture and expertise on ‘The Great American Recipe’
The culinary talents of Mae Chandran have launched the Malibu resident from home cook to television personality with her upcoming appearance on the new season of the PBS hit show “The Great American Recipe.”
Season 3, debuting June 17, features the very charming 76-year-old as the series’ oldest contestant in a friendly and upbeat competition that celebrates the multiculturalism that makes American food so delicious and vibrant. The Malibu Times got the opportunity to chat with this very vibrant personality who wouldn’t reveal the outcome of the show, but did offer some compelling reasons to watch it.
Chandran has called Malibu home for 38 years. She was born in China, moved to Hong Kong as a youngster and then moved to the US at age 8, settling in Fall River, Massachusetts. She and her family lived above her family’s Chinese American restaurant.
“I grew up in the restaurant business,” the mother of two Malibu High School graduates said.
“I’ve always had this love for food,” she said, specifically mentioning the regional food from her New England youth, including shellfish, like quahogs. But as a child, Chandran wasn’t allowed in the commercial kitchen. She had to wait until the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. to practice her skills and experiment in the kitchen. She devoured cookbooks and collected recipes, and though longing to study culinary arts, she received degrees from UCLA and an MBA from Loyola. She taught a few cooking classes in Los Angeles while also raising her children. But Chandran said she is basically “self-taught. My love for cooking has never died down.”
Chandran had never even heard of “The Great American Recipe” until a casting agent found her. The other contestants were discovered through their cooking related Instagram accounts. Chandran posts on Instagram too but commented, “I’m more than just about food. I’m about gardening, my family. I’m the only one they did not find through Instagram.”
The grandmother of two went through “a very rigorous process” to eventually get cast. Chandran was sent to Nashville last October for nearly a month of shooting the eight-episode series. She worked 12- to 14-hour days and when questioned if she could keep up with that pace Chandran told the producers, “What a silly question. I’m from a restaurant background. We were open seven days a week. I said, ‘yeah, what’s the problem?’ I think they wanted to know because of my age. But I have more energy than others that age.”
On the show, contestants are asked to prepare regional dishes and foods they grew up eating. They have just one hour to cook and plate the dish. Chandran cooked a dish “very prevalent in California” but she isn’t allowed to reveal it yet.
Unlike other reality TV cooking shows “The Great American Recipe” does not eliminate contestants. When asked what the winner receives, Chandran answered, “Nothing. That’s the beauty of it.” The winner gets bragging rights and according to Chandran, “the privilege of being the winner.” It’s this attitude that makes Chandran so charming. She added, “It’s a very encompassing show, very inclusive.
“It’s a heartwarming show. I think I’m going to be friends with all these people because every one of us is so normal. We’d help each other. I’d hate to be in a show that’s cutthroat, where they eliminate people. This show is about inclusivity.”
All in all, Chandran was responsible for creating nearly 20 dishes. One in particular was a meal her mother served to her she remembered from her childhood.
“This show is about family traditions and shows how America is comprised of all nationalities, all different types of foods,” she said. “We talk about tradition and how one recipe is carried down through the ages and how recipes make us feel. I think it’ll be an eye-opener for a lot of people because it’s more than just about food. It’s about how food binds us and how different people have different celebrations. One of the dishes we made was for celebrating, another was a signature dish.”
Chandran’s dishes were described as Cantonese, which the Malibu resident described as “very delicate food.” But once she married a man who favored spicy food, her cooking style changed to “a lot of heat and spice.”
She concluded, “Because of my husband I learned to use curry and spices. Love is through the stomach, right?”
