From Being Asia's First Autistic Marathoner To Becoming A Chef, Here's Varun Sawant's Inspiring Journey

Diagnosed with Autism at such a young age of 2.5 years, Varun Sawant has been receiving therapy since then. His mother recounts an incident where Varun asked her if a child who was using a wheelchair was differently-abled. Gradually, he realised that even he comes under that spectrum and started asking questions about his disorder. He began reading about the same from the study material collected by his mother.

He was curious to know more about his condition and also started coming to terms with the same. Varun began accepting things as he had been capable of doing things well and even his teachers in school praised his efforts.

A perfectionist at heart, Varun strives to do things with utmost accuracy and precision as he wants to prove to the world that he can handle all tasks easily. He wants everything to be done properly. When asked how he felt about being on the spectrum, he replied with just one word - "Fabulous." If that doesn't imply his amazing zest for life and the way he overcomes hurdles in his path, I don't know what will.

From accompanying his mother in the kitchen and buttering the chapattis after they're cooked, to knowing the names of all spices in three different languages, he gradually realised his love for cooking. Varun used to religiously follow Sanjeev Kapoor's Khaana Khazana which deeply impacted his passion. Not only this, he loves watching all kinds of cookery shows, no matter what language they are in.

A visit to a big hotel and conversing with the chefs was all it took for him to determine that he aspires to become a chef and a confectionary baker. He loves cooking all kinds of food, Chicken 365 being his absolute favourite. He is more into baking as he enjoys baking bread and cookies a lot.

Swimming and running are some of the activities he enjoys doing, apart from baking. Varun holds the record for being the first person with Autism in Asia to complete a 42 km marathon in 4 hours 27 minutes.

With internship experience with ITC Maratha and Grand Hyatt, Varun is equipped with all the necessary skills needed to make it in the culinary industry. He also received letters of appreciation from the internships as the chefs in those restaurants were astonished to see a person with autism who could bake with such professionalism.

Due to the lockdown, he has not been placed for a job yet. But this did not dampen his enthusiasm, instead, he started his own venture for homemade cookies which are baked using different millets. He hopes to get more orders for his venture "Bake n Flake" or to get a placement in one of the big restaurants. Hire him here.