Celebrity Chef: Manu Chandra

OT: When did you realise that you wanted to be a chef?
Manu Chandra: I think this is one question I struggle with for an answer. That I loved to cook, entertain and being in the kitchen was established when I was all of 10-11 years old, but that I’d become a chef never did cross my mind. Towards the end of school, I thought that hotel management would be what I would do, since it fit my interests. I ended up doing a Bachelor’s in History from St Stephens instead, while never letting the passion for food die down. It’s around then I decided to take it up as a profession, after stumbling upon the website for the Culinary Institute of America.

OT: What are your favourite dishes at all your restaurants, from the Fatty Bao to Monkey Bar and Olive Beach?
Manu Chandra: A recent entrant to several of Monkey Bar’s menus is the Chandraji’s Mutton Curry, a good old Kayastha home recipe. It takes me back to what it feels like eating at home, and even though the pairing of Bengali Gobindobhog rice is not classic, it hits the spot. I can also never tire of eating the Char Siu Bao at The Fatty Bao and Cassata at Olive Beach, Bangalore. I actually don’t have a favourite cuisine. If I enjoy it, it’s my favourite. I like big flavours and integrity in food. A meal I had not so long ago in the hills of Valpolicella in Italy by a sweet old chef at his eponymous restaurant Grotto de Corgnan will stand out as outstanding for a long time. Besides the absolutely delicious food, it was the extremely personalised service, which his daughters (a sous chef and the maître d’hôtel) brought to the table that was incredible.

OT: You like slow cooking, fast cooking, minimalism. Which of these defines you?
Manu Chandra: I’m told that Libras like me are the most indecisive creatures on the planet. Are you still surprised?

OT: What prompted you to introduce regional dishes into pub menus?
Manu Chandra: There is something fundamentally flawed in inspiration that needs to wander the planet without taking a long, hard look at the bounty that exists within our borders. The next big trend in India is Indian: I can’t even begin to tell you how ironic that sounds. But seriously, someone had to wake up and smell the chaulai and make it mainstream. That’s precisely what I’d like to do.