Something's cooking, chefs are bonding

Gone are the days of the solitary chef. Some of India's top names are now cooking, learning and growing together

- Jyoti Kumari

Chefs have long been cast as aloof and brooding. Sometimes explosive like Gordon Ramsay in Hell's Kitchen, or haunted like Jeremy Allen White's Carmy in The Bear. Popular culture paints them as tortured artists running kitchens with military precision behind swinging doors.

But across India's culinary landscape, the stereotype is fading. Kitchens are slowly turning into places of camaraderie, learning and support. Much of this shift is also driven by survival. Rising costs, staffing challenges and demanding diners have made chefs more willing to share knowledge rather than trademark secrets.

"If I want to figure out shoyu ramen, I call Kavan (of Naru Noodle Bar, Bengaluru). If I'm stuck with pizza dough, I call Alex (of Americano and Otra, Mumbai)," says chef Gresham Fernandes of Bandra Born, Mumbai. Prateek Sadhu, chef-owner of NAAR, in Kasauli, agrees. "People barely met earlier. Now we're talking at 4am about life and food," he says, though he adds that "the friendships that exist are real, but not with everyone". He calls Fernandes "the most talented chef of our generation", while Fernandes often turns to Sadhu for help with his storytelling.

For Seefah Ketchaiyo, chef and co-owner of Seefah in Mumbai, these connections are lifelines. "Initially everything was unfamiliar, but once people saw my work ethic, they opened up." She also leans on a close bunch of chef friends like private chef Harsh Dixit, Divesh Aswani of Commis Station and Bhakti Mehta from Little Food Co.