Re: Winter 2014/15 | Page 15

new ideas or is it to see family or a bit of both? I visit India whenever my mum says, “I’m missing you” I board the plane and it’s true. My mum still lives in India and I go there as often as I can. I have consulting work in Dubai so that takes me there three times in a year. So every time I’m in Dubai I go to India, but apart from that, another three or four times I do go. So I’m there quite often. And next year I’m opening two of my own restaurants in India. I’m going to Mumbai. So, yeah, that will take me more often. Perfect. Your mum will be pleased. I’m sure she will be! But it’s 20 years later I’m returning to open a restaurant, I can’t believe it. So I’m very excited about that. And do you still find that when you go over you’re still discovering new ideas and inspiration? I do, I do. You know, because I grew up in such a way with my family from north India and then I grew up in east India and then for my education, I was then sent down to south India, in Chennai, which used to be Madras. My understanding of cuisine evolved or I kind of understood flavours in a different way and once when I was cooking Indian food in India, I had a German executive sous chef and he was married to an Indian lady so he understood India pretty well as well. There was one time when I was cooking for him and his wife and he said: “Do you know that your food in a very weird way is a fusion? And in a good weird way!”. I said: “Okay, what do you mean by that?” He said: “I can’t explain, Atul, but all I can tell you is you are 20 years ahead of what India needs. Go away somewhere, experiment and come back and India will be ready for you.” And it’s funny, those words have