Pine nut podi or an innovative panch phoran -pickled prawn. That’s Chef Atul Kochhar for you, combining the best Indian recipes with local produce. No wonder he has some of the world’s most famous people eating out of his hand. He has cooked for Britain’s Prince Charles at the iconic St. James’ Palace and was invited to meet the Queen Mother.
There is a delicious irony in the life of this twice Michelin-starred chef-owner of London’s most celebrated contemporary Indian restaurant, Benares.
Growing up in Jamshedpur, he once swore he would never become a businessman. The boy and his family suffered great hardships when his father, who ran a catering company and other small businesses, experienced several setbacks. “I swore I would never do business, that I would find myself a good job and take care of my family.”
But that was a long time ago. In the years since, he has carved a formidable name for himself as a culinary entrepreneur, with much recognition and multiple restaurants to his name. Two of them are now in Mumbai’s new culinary epicentre, the Bandra Kurla Complex.
We’ve met twice in the recent past — once at Benares in London’s swish Mayfair and once at NRI (Not Really Indian), his new restaurant in Mumbai that features Indian recipes that travelled abroad decades ago and have been adopted by people in other parts of the world but with their own twist.
Each time we’ve met, Kochhar has exuded a blazing passion for the path he chose, forgoing the predictable medicine or engineering that bright sons of middle-class families were expected to follow.
Stardom, Michelin style
His path took him to hotel management school in Chennai, which in those days was formidable. He knew neither the language nor a soul in the city. But he took to it with consummate ease, striking up friendships with classmates who invited him to their hometowns in Kerala, Karnataka or far-flung villages of Tamil Nadu.
“I would watch their mothers and grandmothers cook simple, delicious dishes and developed a fascination for learning that has remained with me. You never really learn everything about everything; there is always something more.”
Which is why, wherever in the world he goes, Kochhar trawls the local markets for new vegetables and ingredients; eats with local chefs; and still takes notes when he eats something new or sees a cooking technique that excites him. “One of my earliest trainers at the Oberoi School once told me that my job was to learn everything I could about ingredients and that if I did that, my food would always sparkle. His words have made me a lifelong researcher of new ingredients.”
In 2001, the boy from Jamshedpur became the first Indian chef to get the coveted Michelin star as head chef at London’s Tamarind restaurant.
Kochhar’s quirky ideas often didn’t find favour with his then employers, and this led him to set up his own restaurant in London. It was an audacious dream. He had no money, but he did have a reputation as a rising star in the culinary world.
Tikka in a pie
It wasn’t long before he found investors who believed in him, and not only gave him money but a small stake in the business. Benares, the labour of his love, got him his second Michelin star in 2007 and made him the toast of London’s swish set.
Guests at Benares look forward to Kochhar’s ingenious use of English vegetables and fresh produce, presented with flair and a modern Indian twist: street food like aloo tikki presented in avant garde ways or the crowd favourite, tandoori chicken tikka, presented as a pie, with mixed berry chutney on the side; pan-seared scallop and slow roast tomato or a sumptuous Scottish salmon that arrives at the table in a radical new avatar using coconut and curry leaf sauce. Kochhar’s sweet tooth, and his love for Bengal, has inspired the irresistible rhubarb bhapa doi.
Enough reason for Kochhar’s portfolio of restaurants to keep growing. At last count, he had 17 restaurants in some of the world’s most-loved gourmet hubs, including four in London, one each in Madrid and Dubai, and at least six on board luxury cruise liners.
Kochhar hasn’t forgotten the faith his investors placed in him. He picks talented young chefs to work with him, mentors them to set up their own restaurants, sometimes even investing in them.
Keep calm and cook
“I am a fan of Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, and buy into his theory that you become more successful when you hire people who are cleverer and smarter than you. I also believe there is only so much one person can do. Benares’ amazing success and my Michelin stars have been possible only because of my team, which works tirelessly behind the scenes and brings it all together. I believe that if we are quick to apportion the blame when something goes wrong, it should also be natural that we share the glory equally.”
Kochhar sits down for a meal with his team at Benares every afternoon, catching up with them, laughing over jokes, and relaxing. The soft-spoken chef says his journey has been helped by a few simple beliefs, the most important being keeping calm and realising that an angry, hassled boss only succeeds in sending his team into panic mode.
His own recipe for a great meal? “I like to work closely with nature and around seasonal produce. Things that grow together or in the same season will work splendidly together. My job is simply to use my skills to infuse more flavour, better texture, and spices, into something that mother nature has already prepared.”
Although surrounded by a dizzying array of food that gourmets would give an arm and a leg for, Kochhar himself is a stickler for simple things. His recipe for a great life: a healthy smoothie with berries and greens every morning, yoga three or four times a week, and time spent travelling with his family. And more than anything else, his mother’s rajma chawal.
The writer is only an occasional cook but is fascinated by the journeys of chefs.
