What did you have for dinner last night?
I had an Aglio olio linguini with shrimp and squid and a slice of a baked Oreo cheesecake.
What are you reading now?
I have a passion for reading and have a mini library at home. I have at least five to six cookbooks I am referencing at any point of time. I love to read fiction and right now, I am finishing up the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson.
Your favourite recipe book?
That is a really tough question! There are a few books in that list and narrowing it down to one is hard. Hering’s Dictionary of Classical and Modern Cookery by Walter Bickel is an encyclopaedia of recipes. As a young chef, it opened my eyes to the number of possibilities with food, and is a book I recommend to most young professional chefs. Another book is White Heat by Marco Pierre White; this is a cookbook that’s partly autobiographical and talks more about the essence of cooking and the drive to be perfect.
What meals do you have planned for your next vacation?
I am planning to go to Thailand on my honeymoon for my next vacation, and as I love to try the local cuisine wherever I go, I will ask around and find a few good places to go to. I’m also looking forward to having a meal at Gaggan in Bangkok.
Most memorable meal?
I enjoy good food made by people who enjoy their craft; they can vary from hawker stalls to the best restaurants. I am a foodie and I live to eat. I have had some truly great meal experiences. A couple of them are Bade Miya, a legendary dhaba restaurant in Colaba, Mumbai and Vishalla in Ahmedabad, an authentic Gujarati thali restaurant. But what I really miss staying away from home are my mom’s home-cooked meals.
How about the worst?
I have been really lucky to have never really had a truly bad meal experience, barring a few experiments with cooking when I was a young boy making dinner at home.
Places you eat at most often?
Amaravathi Restaurant, Nandos at Phoenix Mall and Tuscana.
Lessons learnt in the kitchen?
Cook with love and passion and it transfers to the food. Also, chefs never make mistakes, they just create new dishes.
Any secret junk food confessions?
Maggi with egg and cheese, a legacy of my hostel days.
Last meal on earth: What would you choose?
A classic Parsi Sunday lunch; I have had many happy memories around this meal of Dhansak Kebab, Kachumber and Tarela Boomla.
