The world can learn fine dining from India: Atul Kochhar

Atul Kochhar is not a small name in the world of food. In fact, he is probably the most famous Indian chef who has taken his trade across to foodies thriving for modern Indian food.

“It feels good,” he says, in the backdrop of a bustling kitchen which has catered to the likes of the Bachchan family, George Clooney, Tom Cruise and Judi Dench. To take it a notch higher, Atul has cooked for Prince Charles at St James Palace and was invited to meet the Queen during a state visit by the President of India.

Kochhar started off his journey in the UK as head chef of Tamarind restaurant in 1994 and his food was met with immense reception, leading him to become the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star. At the premiere of Duplicate, in which Shah Rukh Khan played the role of a bawarchi, it was Atul who donned the chef’s hat and catered to the cast.

In 2002, he decided to go his own way, opening ‘Benares’ in the posh Mayfair area in central London.

“It is just like in olden times, when a halwai would do well at one store, he would open another. I have gone about my business similarly,” he says, eyes glinting through his glasses which give him the look of a doctor rather than a chef.

And doctor he almost became before choosing the path of his passion. “It was touch and go. I was on the path to becoming either an engineer or a doctor, when I decided to go into hotel management…and here I am!”

Today, Kochhar is associated with a number of fine dining restaurant, which include Ananda, Vatika and one aboard the cruise ship Azura called Sindhu.

On being probed on the comparison between fine dine restaurants in the West and in India, he doesn’t bat an eyelid before saying: “Whoever thinks that India lacks in fine dining, then I will make it my personal priority to educate him.” The subtle smile that breaks across his face gives the sarcasm away, but he continues, “Maybe we are projected as a poor country and all that, but on the other end of the spectrum, we have the royal families in India since ages, and they had the most supreme fine dining culture. They had the best of kebabs, vegetables and lentils. The heritage is so rich, just look at the number of foreigners who came to the country in the last 1,000 years!”

But maybe we have lost it somewhere in the frantic rat-race that ensues in every developing country. “I wouldn’t say it has been lost, I think the time to indulge in it is tough to find. India is a frantic country.”

Less than a decade into winning his first Michelin star, Atul went on to receive another one in 2007, an achievement which few have managed till date. An unnerving ability to take things in his stride is also what makes for his radical success in Europe, making him one of the catalysts promoting a British-Indian style of cooking.

“When I first came to the country, I used to cook in a very traditional Indian manner. But then I realised that this is my home and I started absorbing all sorts of influences around me — which included Greek, Italian, German and other cuisines. I became savvy with the ingredients that were grown in the UK — the spices, the types of vegetables… everything. I started using these and my food has been coined as British-Indian and I also see it that way.”

If you wonder how these chefs stay away from the brilliant food they cook, then Atul admits that it sometimes gets a bit hard to not indulge. “Yes, there are those moments, but I keep fit. It keeps me healthy. But I must admit, I grow tired of my cooking at times, and that is the time to go out and ask someone else to cook for me,” he says. Pretty modest for a man who was part of Masterchef Goes Large and BBC2’s Great British Menu.

With the ratio of Indian scientists to those from other countries in institutes like NASA being well-documented, it is also a norm to see a couple of Indian chefs in every restaurant in the UK. Another type of brain-drain?

“Yes, I think that is right, but the glaring difference is that they are going back from here and opening some really good stand-alone restaurants in India. This international experience is needed. It is a learning process and in this field, it gives you a whole range of different skills. There are many South Asians who come here as chefs, but it may well increase the brilliance of Indian restaurant quality when these people return.”

With food presentation a whole different area of expertise these days, Atul says that Indian food is actually the easiest to present.

“Indian food is so bright and looks gorgeous on a plate. There is no need to apply presentation on it. Just a chunk of tomato or a dollop of butter will do the trick.”

With the convincing way he says it, accompanied by the practised chef’s nod, it is hard to disagree.