Vineet Bhatia is the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star and among the few to have parlayed the initial success into an international brand. His secret, demystify the hysteria of Indian food. He remains one of it’s most ardent innovators writes Pashmina Narang.
As the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star, Vineet Bhatia carries his achievement lightly. An admitted iconoclast, Bhatia is among the few to have parlayed the initial success from his radical thinking to build an international brand and another star, earned in 2006. “It has taken 16 years, my road is still less travelled,” he says.
The star that set Bhatia on his way was in 2001 at Zaika, London. He was the first Indian chef to win the much coveted star in 102 years of Michelin’s history. Bhatia’s secret, demystify the hysteria of Indian food. As the trend’s first voice, he continues as one of its most ardent innovators by going against 5,000 years of refinement. But why? “Dissatisfaction drove me to revise the fundamentals of Indian cooking,” he admits.
Oily, greasy food was the face of Indian cuisine in the UK made by Bangladeshi and Pakistani cooks. “I looked like a rebel waging a war against this falseness with no benchmark to set myself against. So I set my own trend minus messing with its authenticity,” he says.
It started in Mumbai in 1988 as a trainee chef with the Oberoi Delhi and Jass Oberoi-Khajuraho. “As a rule, the cream of the class were absorbed in the French kitchens, but I stuck to the Indian kitchen much to the dismay of my seniors who almost threatened me to go French.”
From Delhi, Bhatia was transferred to the Oberoi Mumbai as chef-de-cuisine, at the Mewar and Kandahar restaurants. These traditionally rigid kitchens gave him no space to experiment with his creations. While on the other hand, his French counterparts were being applauded for their daredevilry in cuisine.
Frustrated, Bhatia moved to London, unaware that curious Anglo-Indian spicy stews over large pints of beer were being gulped down by gullible Britons who considered it to be true-blue Indian cuisine.
No sooner had he migrated to the UK that food critics applauded his unique approach as the ‘Modern Indian’.
“Despite all the advances made in Indian food, I think Vineet is still the finest modern Indian chef anywhere. His ability to make complex flavours clear and harmonious, while keeping dishes light and fresh is unmatched, and his seasoning is always pitch perfect”: critic A.A Gill glowed in The Times.
In Britain and elsewhere, Bhatia creates the ‘Indian gourmand experience’ that delicately arrives in small portions on fine cutlery.
Are his kitchens modern? He denies using high-end equipment “besides one fancy indulgence.” The Swiss made Pacojet, an ice-cream machine originally meant to make garlic and ginger paste. “But I use it for savoury ice-creams instead of wasting its full potential. My passion for preparation is my best equipment,” he says.
He now manages three signature restaurants; the Rasoi in London, Indego in Dubai and the Indus in Moscow. To other restaurants, Vineet Bhatia’s endorsement as consultant chef is enough.
Though he insists there is “more pressure as chef patron because you are backing your own self worth with huge investments. Besides serving as a patron gets you credibility to be hired as a consultant,” Bhatia says.
He is quick to add, “We strictly associate with restaurants on one criterion, that they share in our sense of culinary ethos and philosophy of service.”
Shrewd marketing is part of Bhatia’s signature style. Like the romance created around Rasoi. British diners are over the moon to ring the customary doorbell before entering Rasoi, set in a 100 year old cosy Chelsea cottage.
Food exotica takes over where rose, vanilla, tea and ginger come together as frozen dessert, khichdi morphs into an Indian risotto and the samosa is stuffed with smooth chocolate listed on the menu as ‘Chocomosa’. Creations like this sparked off an affair with awards.
“Of course awards are welcome appreciations but also a humbling reminder that this recognition is a result of sheer teamwork. With growth one needs to be selfless,” he says.
Remind him of how budding chefs back home are getting more liberal in their dealings with desi fare and Bhatia comments, “Yes culinary trends are changing but sadly it is limited to the metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.”
In recession torn times, one is tempted to debate whether the average London dinner of 40.11 pounds might pinch. Showing chutpaz now characteristic of him Bhatia says,
“In these financially fickle times, there is an opportunity to evolve and get better. This is how I choose to react to the economic crisis.”
The slowdown has not reached him. Bhatia has a busy schedule ahead taking Rasoi to the US, south of France, Moscow, Bahrain and Doha. He calls Rasoi his “most cherished accomplishment” because it fulfilled his early dream of starting his very own restaurant.
Far away from the fame, Bhatia would like to be remembered for the cuisine revolution he stirred up, a culinary battle being fought for 16 long years backed by his secret weapon and “biggest anchor”; his wife Rashima.
How do you describe yourself Vineet? “As a global Indian whose inspiration is deeply rooted in India with an ever-burning desire to put Indian cuisine at the forefront.”
CULINARY HONOURS
- 1 Michelin star – 2001 and then again in 2006
- Shortlisted in Egon Ronay’s ‘Magnificent 7 Chefs in UK’ – Daily Telegraph, February 2005
- The Chef of Year 2004 – as listed in The Evening Standard, December 2004
- Most innovative chef – Cobra awards 2001
- Restaurant personality of the year – Best in Britain awards 2001
- Awarded Fellow to the Guild of Master Craftsmen – 1996
- Certificate of ingenuity from the association of Italian chefs – 1994
