Serving from the top

The best Indian chefs of this generation are not in competition, they're collaborating, taking risks and giving Indian food an exciting future

- VIR SANGHVI

If you doubt that the Indian food scene at the top level is changing, then you should have been in Dubai last week, when three of India’s top chefs first cooked an amazing meal and then came together to discuss how things had changed, at a session that I moderated.

The idea, when it was proposed, seemed outrageous. Would Himanshu Saini, whose restauirant Tresind Studio has three Michelin stars, agree to invite Prateek Sadhu of Naar, in the foothills of Himalayas, to come and cook with him? And would both men welcome the new boy in the top league? Johnson Ebenezer of Bengaluru's Farmlore?

For me, that was the first revelation. Chefs agree to collaborations for various reasons. Sometimes, it is friendship: Manuel Olveira of Mumbai's La Loca Maria (which sounds like the name of a Ricky Martin song but is actually one of the city’s most respected restaurants) went to Bengaluru a fortnight ago to cook with Johnson at Farmlore because the two men are pals. And sometimes some collaborations emerge out of a desire to pamper influencers who, it is hoped, will then vote for the chefs in question at various awards and lists of best restaurants. Rare is the collaboration that emerges only out the chefs’ desire to work with the best and to further hone their skills.

Himanshu Saini should know. One reason why his food is technically so advanced is because he has spent the last few years travelling to cook at the world’s best restaurants with the best chefs. It hasn't changed the direction of his food, but it has sharpened his cooking as he has picked up techniques, found unfamiliar ingredients and immersed himself in the latest trends.