Recipe for Risk and Resilience

Cooking is not the only interest of chef Ranveer Brar. His creative spirit finds expression in poetry and photography as well

- Nandini Keshari

Unabashed, spontaneous, real and small town—these adjectives define one of India’s most celebrated chefs, Ranveer Brar. Born in Lucknow to a Punjabi family and raised in a Bengali neighbourhood, Brar’s culinary journey is as rich and diverse as his cultural background. Lucknow’s love for food and the reverence it shows to the ones who cook has shaped Brar’s relation with food.

Brar’s decision to pursue cooking professionally wasn’t met with applause. In the early ‘90s, the idea of being a chef wasn’t mainstream. “What we don’t know, we fear,” he says. His family, like many others, feared the uncertain future of such a career. But Brar persevered. “Kitchens can be overwhelming places sometimes, homogenising chefs. Instead of losing myself in my profession, I chose to find myself.”