Celebrity MasterChef: Nikki Tamboli recalls losing her grandfather whose last wish was to eat crabs; breaks down in tears saying ‘I always fail in family-themed cooking challenges’

As Celebrity MasterChef India enters its emotionally charged finale week, the pressure is high—but so are the emotions. In a heartfelt episode, finalist Nikki Tamboli broke down in tears while recalling her late grandfather’s last wish, as she was challenged to prepare a dish with crab as the core ingredient.
Special guest Munawar Faruqui visited the MasterChef kitchen as the finalists were asked to spotlight a single ingredient in their dish. When Nikki was assigned crab, judge Ranveer Brar asked when she had last cooked it. Her emotional reply brought the entire kitchen to a standstill.

Nikki recalls, “We don’t make crab in our household. My nanaji was an army officer. He had sugar. In our house in Aurangabad, we have many pets. He got scratched by one of the pets on his thigh. If you are diabetic, any kind of injury gets septic very quickly. He got a pus there and by not getting treated timely, his thigh had to get amputated. Since he was in Army we had to inform that he is not going to live longer. My nani asked him his last wish and his last wish wa to eat crab.He ate crab and within one hour he was no more. Since then we have never cooked crab.”
Vikas Khanna apologises saying, ‘I am so sorry’. Nikki further broke down in tears saying, “Every time, last time I made a dish remembering my brother, I failed. Tyohar dish I made navratri, I failed. I am scared I don’t want to fail this time. I have failed everytime family episodes or family ingredients come. I don’t know why I fail.”
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Ranveer says, “We all have incompletions in our lives. Forget what has happened. Today is the challenge to complete this journey. No one is going home. There is nothing to lose.”
The emotional episode reminded viewers that cooking isn’t just about ingredients—it's often about healing through memories.