Gaggan, we met once before not too long ago, when I attended your talk at Singapore's Mandala Club (formerly known as Straits Clan). In all my time interviewing, I've never met a chef as...
As [effed] up as me?
I was going to say unconventional!
Okay so, unconventionally [effed] up? (Both laugh.)
There are many others out there with bold personalities, but you might just be the most unabashedly honest chef I've ever met. What do you think about that?
I think I am an honest person and that's where my honesty comes from even as a chef. Honesty is difficult to find in the fake world we sometimes live in today. I've always thought the only thing I could do with my success, is to be the same. It really goes back to our teachings as a Hindu, as a Brahmin, as a Buddhist or as a Christian or Muslim etc. Our religions remind of us of honesty and that the more dedicated to being as real as we can be, our mistakes and learnings too, will be a part of our growth. Honesty for me is in the ethics of being human, be it in business or anywhere else--and that's what I practice on a daily basis.
On your Chef's Table episode (season 2, episode 6 on Netflix) you shared that at every crossroad you've faced in your career, you've always asked yourself if something felt authentic to you, before you made your next move. Is it important to you not to do things for the sake of it?
Now more than ever I have this mindset. In the first five or six years of my career, I was always worried about being diplomatic or correct. I would worry about everything from how I spoke to how I stacked the dishes. Now I'm more concerned with pushing myself to be the best and most real version of who I can be.
Are you surprised that people have embraced you as you are?
This story is from the May/June 2022 edition of Esquire Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May/June 2022 edition of Esquire Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE MILD HANGOVER
Hangovers get a bad rap. We know. If you’ve gotten this far in the magazine, you’ve surely divined that we’re mildly hungover most of the time.
AN ELECTRIC FUTURE
Polestar, the minimalist electric Swedish car brand, turns the voltage up on its competition.
LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON
Royalty, shopping, the best tea and scones the world has to offer, and a lifestyle worthy of what you're working for. Here's why London is ripe for your next investment
NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA
As Co-founder of the events and talent agency Collective Minds and Managing Director of the Mandala Masters, Zaran Vachha is definitely not new to the culture scene, but he's certainly shaping what comes next.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED...
I DON’T WEAR SOCKS except in January.
The Body Is a Language
A bad handshake is such a turnoff; we feel irked when someone rolls their eyes at us; we can't stop pacing when we're nervous-ever wondered how certain body language has the power to change how we feel instantly? We explore why.
EYE OF THE TIGER
Hailing from Singapore, Japan and Brazil respectively, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes Darren Goh, Hiroki Akimoto and Alex Silva are proof that the ring demands as much from mind as it does from matter.
THE ADONIS COMPLEX
With the rise of superhero culture making a return and bringing with it the celebration of the classically ‘masculine’ body type, can men really overcome the pressure to conform when culture keeps getting in the way?
FUNNY BUT TRUE
A comedian, an iconic Singaporean, and now a man much evolved. After overcoming two years of pandemic limbo, unlocking career milestones one after another and undergoing a life-defining physical transformation, Rishi Budhrani is ready to emerge into the world renewed-and anew.
LIKE NO OTHER
With its horological triumphs, Hermès has truly come into its own as a watchmaking maison. In this exclusive interview with Esquire Singapore, CEO of Hermès Horloger, Laurent Dordet sheds some light on his timepieces' rising stardom and the importance of being different.
