I absolutely
love food and
street food is
my favourite
Cook with the knowledge of what
nature gives you, and then your food
will be amazing.
It’s said that all successful people have
a sort of career turning point. Where
was yours?
I think getting married! But seriously…I
think the biggest turning point or
upheaval in my career came when I
joined the Oberoi School. Again, getting
into that school was… in a lot of ways,
I have to put it out there, that it was
bigger than winning a Michelin star. I
don’t undermine getting a Michelin star
in any sense, it’s just that India is a large
country, 1.2 billion people and millions of
students come out of catering colleges
each year, or at least thousands, and
to be just in that lucky 12 to get through
Oberoi School is a very big thing. I did
work hard but I think I was incredibly
lucky as well, that’s what I would have
to say. I got through and I was very
pleased and I felt very, very special for
those three years.
Winning the Michelin star was also a big
thing because in those days you could
only look up to people like Marco Pierre
White, Gordon Ramsey, Jean Christophe
Novelli, these were the guys who carried
the stars and they were like luminaries
of our world - we would look up to them
as food heroes. I always heard that as
an Indian chef I’d never get a star, it was
14
just the done thing. It was decided that
I should forget it as it’s just not done.
When I learnt I had been given a star
I couldn’t believe it. So it took three or
four phones calls from a journalist to
tell me that. He called and said: “No,
no, you have the star. I can confirm it.” I
said: “No, no, don’t kid me, I’ve got lots
of work to do, I’ve got a busy restaurant,
I really want to get on with my cooking.
Don’t wind me up, just don’t wind me up.”
Finally, he said: “No, no, we’re actually
sending a photographer around to take
your picture because you are the first
Indian chef to get a star.” Then it sank in
that that oh, gosh, I have actually got a
star and it’s been great – it’s been really
good since then.
What’s the process involved with getting
a Michelin star? I don’t know a huge
amount about it.
I don’t either. I only know how to cook
and I certainly don’t cook for Michelin
stars. I cook for pleasure; I cook for the
sincerity in food. I enjoy doing what I
do and I don’t spend too much time
worrying too much about Michelin stars.
If it’s going to come it will come. When
I opened Benares Restaurant, my main
aim was to put everything I had or had
earned until then, into opening this
restaurant. It was the biggest gamble of
my life and I had to make it work, that
was the only thing occupying my mind.
Michelin stars were not. So the first
three years of the life of this restaurant I
didn’t have a Michelin star but I know for
sure that my books were ticking. I had
money coming through the bank, which
was great. I didn’t go belly up worrying
about the star. It made business sense
first and made sure that the 60 people
who work for me got paid every month,
and that was the most important
thing and I’m thankful to my business
partners who trusted me and gave me
full backing - and also my father, who
was alive at that time, and he said; “You
know, accolades will come but if the
books don’t match or add up then you
won’t be around to take that star.”
So I followed that theory. And three years
later the star came naturally and it’s still
with us and we are very happy with that it’s been really good.
You have other restaurants besides
Benares, don’t you? Did you have one
in Ireland?
I’ve got one in Petts Wood in Bromley
called Indian Essence and I have just
opened one in Marlow. I’ve given up
my shares in Ireland, very recently
actually. It just became too much for
me to manage that and I chose not to,
well, not to be part of it and I am kind of
separated from that now.
And how often do you visit India and
is it mostly for cooking inspiration and