Modern, Indian, refit

Where do you go from the top? Manish Mehrotra goes chasing new highs. He's shaking things up, again, with inventive Indian food at Delhi's hot new Nisaba

- VIR SANGHVI

Put yourself in Manish Mehrotra's shoes. You are, by common consent, India's greatest chef. But now, after so many years at the top and other successful restaurants (Comorin, for example) you think you have reached a crossroads in your life. Indian Accent is still the best restaurant in the country.

Your fame has spread globally even though you have refused to play the influencer/paid PR game.

You are very well paid.

But one fine day, you chuck up your job. You walk away. You have accepted no other job. You wonder if you are throwing it all away. Will you recapture that success? Is it too late at 50 to start over?

I saw Manish go through all of these emotions in 2024. That summer, he told me he was giving up his job and walking into the great unknown. He has always been clear about his debt to his boss, Rohit Khattar, so he wanted to give Rohit enough notice. He was not worried about Indian Accent, where his accomplished deputy Shantanu Mehrotra (no relation) already ran the kitchen. But after years of working together, he wanted to leave Rohit’s empire on good terms.

On July 28, 2024, HT City was celebrating its 25th anniversary with a function at the Taj Palace. They were giving awards to the city’s legends and I was asked to present Manish’s award. Neither of us realised we would need to have a conversation on stage. As it turned out, Rajiv Makhni, the anchor of the event, gave us mics and asked us to chat.