MS Dhoni, the former Indian cricketer and iconic captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has earned immense adoration from fans for his remarkable contributions to the sport. Recently, at the IPL 2023 summit clash, the 41-year-old legend led his team to a record-equalling fifth title by defeating the Gujarat Titans (GT).
Throughout his illustrious career spanning over a decade, Dhoni has traveled far and wide, achieving glory on numerous occasions. During a series against the West Indies in 2018, while visiting Trivandrum in Kerala, Dhoni formed a special connection with British-born chef, Suresh Pillai. Chef Pillai took to social media to share his “dream” encounter with the legendary skipper, who had just secured his fifth IPL trophy.
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“October 31, 2018. India was playing West Indies in Trivandrum and the team was staying at the Leela, Kovalam, where I was working then. From the moment the team got off the bus, my eyes were searching for one man. He greeted all of us with his trademark, warm smile and made his way to the suite,” read the tweet from Chef Suresh Pillai.
When the whole world was celebrating the legend and the heart of Indian Cricket yesterday night, I was still in awe of the time I had the privilege of serving him 5 years back.
October 31, 2018.
India was playing West Indies in Trivandrum and the team was staying at the Leela,… pic.twitter.com/UIJSE0SWoZ— suresh pillai (@chef_pillai) May 31, 2023
While the rest of the team had a preference for seafood, MS Dhoni expressed his fondness for chicken curry and rice, accompanied by spicy rasam, as he engaged in conversation with Chef Pillai in Tamil.
“’Hi Chef! How’re you? What’s there for dinner?’, he asked me in a mix of Hindi and Tamil. I gave him an assortment of seafood to choose from. ‘I can’t have seafood, Chef. I am allergic. Can I get some Chicken curry and rice? I would also like some spicy rasam since I have a sore throat (Poondu Rasam kedakkuma? is what he asked!),” Chef Pillai revealed his conversation with Dhoni.
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The following day, as MS Dhoni made his way to the gym, he made a detour to greet the chef and personally convey that he found the food to be delicious. Pillai, who had prepared the meal at short notice, was overwhelmed with joy upon receiving such a generous compliment from his idol. Years later, recalling that moment, the chef considers MS Dhoni’s praise to be the greatest achievement in his culinary career to date.
