My grandad was a
baker, dad became a
caterer and while I was
growing up, there was
always food all around
– in those days, refrigeration wasn’t
there and transportation wasn’t great
at all, so buying local and seasonal
food was the best way to create some
great dishes, and that’s what he did.
At that time in my life, I think I was a
little scornful and I thought ‘He’s not
letting me have enough time for playing
cricket’, but looking back, I’m thankful
that he did that because I learnt so
many things.
I studied for three years of a degree
course in hotel catering and diploma and
then I went to the Oberoi School of Hotel
Management which is like a senior diploma.
The Oberoi School of Hotel Management
is a pretty sought after school in India.
They only take about 12 students from the
whole of India each year and they are very
specific about how they train you. It’s pretty
much like winning a scholarship in this
country. It’s as good as that.
And so when did you first realise that you
had a passion or a talent for cooking?
When were you let loose in the kitchen?
I trained there for three years and then
worked for several years for them and then
I moved to London in 1994. I moved to
open an Indian restaurant where I worked
for eight years and this is also where I got
my first Michelin star in 2001 and then
after that I decided enough was enough, I
should have my own restaurant - so at the
end of 2002 I left and started Benares.
I was studying for my A-levels, and my
dad was running a canteen at my own
school and when he was short-staffed
he would ask me to come and help after
my day’s studying at school. I enjoyed
it because after my school it used to
be girls’ school, it was fantastic. I would
happily stay back and help him. I realised
that I had a streak in cooking.
I started working doing simple stuff
but I slowly started doing major stuff
as well. So that was the time I realised
that I wasn’t meant for medical school, I
was meant for catering school, though I
had an admission for medical school, I
declined and went for catering school.
You followed your dream.
Yes, I did - absolutely
12
What was your first restaurant in
London called?
That was called Tamarind and it’s still
going. They still hold a Michelin star. I left
a great team behind. My sous chef is the
head chef now, he continues to be there
and it’s a great heritage.
How does traditional Indian cuisine differ
from what the average person in this
country thinks a curry is?
Well to start with, Indian food is actually
a misnomer - there is nothing called
Indian cuisine - there are about 38 to
40 different cuisines that come together
to make Indian cuisine. We are hugely
regional. We are hugely tribal. We all use
spices but very much in a very different
way. Our geographical positions are
influential – with one part of the country
being extremely cold and another part
being scorched with heat, I think that
makes it a big variation. So to be able to
create a national cuisine is very difficult
and that is why we don’t really have a
national cuisine so to speak. And to say
that Indians use spices is like saying
Europeans use salt and pepper. It’s as
common as that.
I don’t have a definition for Indian food
to start with – it’s difficult, even for an
Indian. So how British people or people
outside India perceive Indian food,
it’s actually a menagerie of different
cuisines. If you look at a modern
European restaurant which has got let’s
say pasta from Italy and paella from
Spain and you have fricassées from
France, I think Indian food is what Indian
restaurants abroad are made of. So
that’s what we have.
South Indian food in particular seems
to have really taken off in recent years,
especially in Brighton…
Yeah, south Indian food has been in
this country for a long time, although
people don’t believe it, but it didn’t take