Atul
Kochhar
Interview
Some of the team from
Re: travelled to the heart
of Mayfair to catch up
with twice Michelinstarred chef Atul Kochhar
at his restaurant,
Benares. The celebrity
chef, who regularly
appears on Saturday
Kitchen alongside close
friend and fellow chef
James Martin, has a
unique talent that has
changed the way people
perceive and experience
Indian food.
He draws inspiration from his native
India and continues to research regional
dishes. He combines his heritage with
his love of British ingredients to create
unique and innovative modern Indian
dishes. He obtained his first Michelin
star in 2001 while he was head chef
at Tamarind, then went on to open his
own restaurant, the highly acclaimed
Benares Restaurant & Bar, where he
was awarded his second Michelin
star in 2007.
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With the success of Benares, Atul
became a regular guest chef on P&O
cruises and a consulting chef for many
restaurants and hotel groups worldwide.
In addition to these projects, Atul has
written three successful cookbooks;
‘Indian Essence and Fish’, ‘Indian Style’
and ‘Curries of the World’, for which Atul
travelled extensively to research.
With recipes featured in international
publications and many regular
appearances on food broadcasts, Atul
remains committed to his passion and
is constantly seeking inspiration through
travel and research. His work ethic and
talent have not gone unnoticed as he has
had the privilege to cook for Prince Charles
at St James’s Palace as well as having
been personally invited to meet The Queen
during the president of India’s official
visit. Partnered with both Action Against
Hunger and The Prince’s Trust, Atul uses
his success and that of his restaurants to
raise awareness and support charitable
endeavours. When he is not busy with one
of his restaurants or projects, Atul enjoys
spending time at home in London with his
wife Deepti and their two children. The next
few years look full of exciting projects for
Atul and his team. Here’s what he told us...
originally from North India - Punjab.
Bihar was an industrial town and my
grandad moved there from my dad’s
side - he was an engineer and worked
for a big industrialist group and my
grandad on my mum’s side was a baker.
So they moved there when World War II
was nearing its end and the opportunity
for bakers was there. They had kept
prisoners of war from the Burma war and
they needed to be fed which is why they
needed bakers. So my grandad moved
there and started a business.
My childhood was always around food.
My dad took up catering later in life. So
my grandad was a baker, dad became a
caterer and while I was growing up, there
was always food all around. So whether
I went to mum’s side of the family or my
dad’s side of the family, we were always
talking and eating. Talking about food and
eating food was our way of life.
Could you start by telling us about your
childhood and early years?
I always say it with a smile and jokingly
but my grandad and my dad both believed
in child labour! They made me work for
them. They would take me to the market
when they would buy various produce and
I would carry the sacks and bags for them
and would bring it back to the place of work.
That taught me some amazingly important
lessons about food especially from my dad,
I would say he was way ahead of his time.
I was born and bred in Bihar and I was
raised in Eastern India. My family’s
He wanted everything to be local, easy,
fresh and seasonal. He had his reasons