Endings involve drama. And Gaggan knows drama is good for business.
Enfant terrible of the culinary world, the Kolkata-born, Bangkok-based chef unexpectedly declared he would close his multiple-award-winning eponymous restaurant at the zenith of its popularity. As the closing date — 2020 — draws nearer, the chef is hosting what is being billed as the ‘Last experience of Gaggan’: a pop-up in four cities, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi for one day each, dinner only.
In Chennai, Gaggan is slouched on a chair, taking a breather in the private dining area of glittering Avartana at ITC Grand Chola. He’s here with his team, and they have a hectic schedule and 220 kilograms of excess baggage in the form of plates, ingredients and equipment. Given how technically demanding the menu is, there is no room for mistakes.
“I won’t cook outside my kitchen again,” he states with finality. In the background, the Avartana kitchen is steamy with dinner prep, led by his trusted head chef, Indonesian Rydo Anton. “People come to Gaggan to see me cook. After this, till it closes down, I will stay in my own kitchen.”
Hence the ‘finality’ of this dinner, priced at ₹25,000 per plate, for 15 courses paired with wine. Given that The Gaggan Experience at his Bangkok restaurant is listed at 6,500 baht (roughly ₹14,600) for 25 courses, it’s a testament to his success, and savvy marketing skills, that the dinner is sold out in all four cities.
A triumphant return to India? He bristles at the question, “I have been triumphant many times.” Then pauses and adds, “It started here. It will end here. Yes. I am sentimental about India.”
Born to Punjabi parents in Kolkata, the chef studied Hotel Management in Thiruvananthapuram, before working with the Taj Group of hotels, then branching out on his own. At 29, disillusioned by a failing marriage, he fled to Bangkok, where he quickly realised that he was happiest working for himself.
Astute, driven and ambitious, Gaggan earned a place in Ferran Adria’s legendary El Bulli kitchen in Spain, which left a lasting impact on his style. Hence, his cleverly eccentric menu: a visceral union of desi comfort food and molecular gastronomy. Of memories and technique. Welding together a yearning for home and burning ambition to get away: all on a plate.
He used to called his cooking ‘Progressive Indian’. Now, after a rash of press and awards, he calls it ‘progressive Gaggan’. Never one to be coy about success, Gaggan seems more pleased with himself than usual, as he prepares to end this chapter.
“When people go out, they usually eat a cuisine. At Gaggan, you eat the chef’s journey. The chef’s personality. That is why I am wearing out... I don’t know if everyone can have the same vision. Everyone can’t be Michael Jackson. Or Charlie Chaplin,” he says. Then adds matter of factly, “You have to burn out or walk out. El Bulli taught me that. It’s every chef’s nightmare — burning out. So this is how I’m controlling my fizz.” He laughs, “I’m controlling my agarbathi .”
The next phase will involve more cooking, but in a very different style. Gaggan plans to open what will possibly be the world’s most inaccessible restaurant with his friend Chef Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama in Fukuoka, Japan. ‘GohGan’ is likely to open in 2021.
“It’s like fashion: two brands merging. Like Kanye West with Adidas. But with food. This won’t be a collaboration, or fusion. It will be a mash-up. We will have 16 seats and be open only three times a week, on alternate months. People can book only once a year, or better still, once in a lifetime,” says Gaggan.
He adds that guests will have to check in for two nights. “On the first night, we will chill, drink, maybe have barbeque. The next day do Onsen, use the spa... So at 6 pm, they don’t come stressed for dinner. You need to prepare your body for a fancy meal. Now, at Gaggan, we have people dying of jet lag at our tables!”
Meanwhile the chef is making savvy investments to secure his financial future before setting off on his Japanese adventure. He’s now got stakes in a clutch of successful restaurants in Bangkok, whose chefs he’s mentored.
Gaa by Garima Arora, which just got a Michelin, is probably the best known right now. Then there’s Suhring by talented twin chefs Mathias and Thomas Suhring and Mihara Tofuten, a fine dining tofu-focussed restaurant. And finally Meatlicious, which cooks meat on wood and coal. In a month or so, Gaggan will also open a wine bar called Wet with his sommelier Vladimir Kojic.
As for Gaggan the restaurant? It goes to head chef Rydo Anton, who will relaunch it, with a new name, look and menu, by 2021.
“Rydo. He is my legacy,” says Gaggan. “Our thoughts on cooking are the same. He has been with me from 2012. Now, he is turning 29 and at 30 he will have his own restaurant. That’s the same journey I did. Rydo is the heir to my throne.”
