Indian-origin chefs, mainly from New York, but also from Cardiff, many of them Michelin-starred, are beating a path to India in their desire to leave a mark on the evolving culinary landscape in India.

Chemistry 101 – Chef Gomes

Last year, Chef Atul Kochhar made his India debut with NRI or Not Just Indian, a lovely restaurant in Bandra Kurla Complex that focuses on food eaten by the Non Resident Indians – food that has traces of India in it, but is not completely Indian. Kochhar chose to bring in an entirely new brand to India rather than Benares, his famous restaurant brand in the US, which serves a lush lobster moilee salad and tangy chutney martini.

Chef Atul Kochhar

“I never wanted to leave India, but the quest of learning was so strong that I had to go,” he says. Chef Kochhar grew up in Jamshedpur and started his career with The Oberoi Group in 1993, but eventually moved to London as head chef of the Tamarind restaurant. During his tenure, the restaurant earned its first Michelin Star, in 2001. He set up Benares Restaurant & Bar in 2007. Six years ago, that he began exploring the Indian market for an opening.  “I saw some fantastic things happening on the political front — things were improving,” he says.  “India has more international flavours now. This is when I thought of setting up a restaurant here.”

Lima – Chef Atul Kochhar

NRI pays homage to the immigrant and his memories of food. “It is very simple — I am fascinated by the cuisine that has gone outside the country,” he says. A few months later, he opened Lima, a Peruvian bar-cum-restaurant which serves amazing cocktails. Kochhar chose Mumbai to open his first restaurant in India because, he says, “I have always loved the city. It stands apart and it is more cosmopolitan that any other city in India. Delhi has a lot of diversity in the political arena but otherwise, Delhi is characteristically more north Indian in character.”

Chef Vineet Bhatia

Kochhar is the fourth chef to make his way back home to set up a fine dine restaurant. The pioneer of this trend was Vineet Bhatia, who, along with Chef Kochhar, was among the first Indians to receive a Michelin star. In 2010, on the invitation of The Oberoi Group’s Executive Chairman, PRS Oberoi, Chef Bhatia set up Ziya within the sleek confines of The Oberoi, Mumbai. Opened in April 2010, 17 after terrorists defaced The Oberoi, Mumbai, Ziya is set in plush gold and black surroundings overlooking the Marine Drive and Mumbai city’s skyline.”It’s like coming a full circle. I worked in the same kitchen for five years and now I am leading that kitchen,” says Chef Bhatia. “In India you have extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Mumbai is a great example of that. They both survive and aspire to do well. The rich are now so used to travelling internationally. There are international brands in India – there is luxury cars, luxury jets, banking, retail. They also want to dine in places that serve luxury food and luxury products. That is there lifestyle.”

Ziya – Chef Bhatia

Ziya is all about understated luxury. “The idea is to provide a wow factor without being pompous and opulent. In the restaurant, the jaalis are all made of gold. The display kitchen has gold tiles on them. When you sit down to eat, the cutlery is gold polished. For an Indian, gold is the most important product for quality and for richness. Although it is gold polished, it is not in your face. It is subtle,” says the chef. The dishes that stand out include ginger tandoori lamb chops with saffron-infused masala mash and mushroom galauti kebabs with onion-pohe spicy Kolhapuri sauce.

Chef Cardoz

Almost five years later after Chef Bhatia made his way back home, in 2015, New York-based Chef Floyd Cardoz also chose Mumbai to set up Bombay Canteen in Kamla Mills, which was once a buzzing textile mill. The chef, who as a child harboured ambitions to be a tea estate manager, ended up studying at the Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai, before moving to the US to set up Tabla, a fairly successful New York restaurant. Chef Cardoz, speaking about why he chose Mumbai, says, “I grew up in Bombay and it shall always be home. In fact, coming home was the best part of doing this restaurant. Mumbai is such a mix of different cultures and people, forever receptive to new ideas and concepts.”

Bombay Canteen

Housed within a recreated old Mumbai bungalow, an ode to the city’s architectural history, The Bombay Canteen is the perfect place for anything: from a quick snack to a good lunch, a drink after work, a night about town or a fun dinner with the family. “The food focuses on recreating traditional recipes using local seasonal ingredients, showcased in a contemporary form. The cuisine is best described as “India inspired!” The kitchen presents the classic yet unexplored charm of India’s diverse regions, marrying them expertly with familiar flavours. And the bar has a unique selection of reimagined classic cocktails with firm Indian roots,” says Chef Cardoz.

Chef Stephen Gomes

 Just a month ago, Mumbai lad Chef Stephen Gomes, who owns the popular Moksh restaurant in Cardiff and who has won the Best UK Indian Chef award for six of the last eight years, set up Chemistry101, again in one of the closed mills. Chef Gomes, who’s a fourth-generation chef — his father James Gomes was the celebrated executive chef of the Sun ’n’ Sand hotel —showcases his “fun” take on Indian cuisine using molecular gastronomy and Ayurveda.

The restaurant serves dishes like Fog Over Borivli Forest or mushrooms with hickory smoke. “When you open the plate, you’ll find it covered in smoke. There are flavours of the forest and I’ll also give ear plugs so you can hear the forest sounds. It is a complete sensory experience,” he says.

There are other Indian-origin chef stars set to follow this trail to India. Like Michelin-starred Gaggan Anand, whose Gaggan restaurant in Bangkok is among the world’s best. Chef Anand has already teamed up with Nachiket Shetye and Mangal Pandey’s Cellar Door Hospitality and American Express to do pop-ups in Mumbai and Delhi. His by-invitation-only Rs 12,000-a-head, 11-course dinner for three nights each was sold out. Now, he plans to do another pop-up on his own in Mumbai and Delhi this year.

NRI or Not Just Indian

“It will be totally different. I’ll do a no-reservation pop-up priced at only Rs 3,000. People will have to queue up, let’s see how long the queue is,” he says. And yes, he wants to open a restaurant too — but “only if the offer is right”.

What’s drawing these chefs to India is their desire, Chef Bhatia says, to make a mark in their homeland. “There’s always a desire to return to your roots and give something back.” But let us not forget the opportunities that India offers, given the country’s changing demographics, rising eating-out culture and increased base of well-traveled Indians who are eager to experiment with food.