Hot Seat

Cutting across traditions

Atul Kochhar, chef and director of British Indian restaurant Benares, who also happens to be the first Indian to receive the coveted Michelin star for his restaurant, speaks of his passion for innovation and authenticity and his future plans. By Sayoni Bhaduri

Atul Kochhar's journey into the culinary world began in India when he ventured into the hospitality industry as a chef with the Oberoi Hotel group. But he later realised that his creativity needed a different channel, hence his shift to London in 1994.

Here he was responsible for setting up and then managing the Indian cuisine restaurant Tamarind for nearly nine years. But not being the kind to be tied down, Kochhar moved on to start Benares in 2002.

The story of Benares

Benares started out as a typical Indian restaurant in London until Kochhar decided to make a few ideological changes. "It was important to understand who my target audience was. It was not the one million Asian/Indian population but the 64 million Britons of the nation," he says.

This made him realise that to create a complete authentic experience it was important to serve food that is made from the local produce instead of imports. "My peers laughed at the concept but I went ahead and sourced all my produce - vegetables, fish, poultry, meat - locally." It was the passion of creating and then serving which is authentic, he says. Authenticity is not carved on a rock; the idea takes a different turn with every individual chef. Today, Benares is a restaurant where the menu takes the guest through different regions of India in the most contemporary of settings.

Kochhar believes it is important to move with customer demands and evolve the dishes accordingly. "Indian cuisine needs to step up and enter the 21st century. No other cuisine has the kind of leverage but unfortunately we have never taken enough pride in that advantage. In Britain an average English family has curry at least twice a week and it is obviously made from ingredients that are available at the local supermarket," he says. So when Britons realised Kochhar's idea of Indian food, which is very British, they tagged him as a British Indian chef and Benares as a British Indian restaurant.

Road to rediscovery

Kochhar's firm faith in reinvention comes across strongly when he discusses how homegrown chefs need to move away from the tawa and the tandoor to reinvent Indian cuisine, keeping the authenticity of the culture. He says, "Fish does not need to be doused in heavy gravy, which hides its aroma and fresh flavour."

Food needs to go beyond the misconception of heavy gravies and sauces and adopt a simplistic presentation to create a sense of vibrancy. He firmly believes that Indian cuisine definitely has the capacity to become the next Japanese cuisine - it has to develop as an experience; if it means adding a little twist to the recipe, then so be it.

In India, there is a trend of restaurants serving multiple cuisines. It is a mixed bag, which eludes the true experience of any cuisine, and an injustice to the cuisine itself. Kochhar is also of a strong opinion that the Indian hotel industry is not open to discover the real potential of an F&B outlet in a hotel. He says that some of the world renowned high-end fine dining restaurants will love to have a piece of the booming hospitality industry pie in India.

Most hotels often have a number of restaurants which they tend to consider as a liability. "They can easily make it a good business proposition by outsourcing the restaurant to a chef or an entrepreneur who will not only take the responsibility of creating a concept which works but also provides a percentage of profit to the hotel," Kochhar says. It is important to understand that with the world becoming a global village, India is a very lucrative option. This will definitely have an effect on the supply of produce as well. The increase in demand will definitely increase supply to satisfy the demand. This is directly related to a probable standardisation and regularisation of the agricultural industry.

Man with a mission

Quality is of utmost importance when creating an experience, which can be possible only through quality staff. According to Kochhar, some of the most popular and successful chefs haven't been trained in institutes; they have developed their skills by working hard, starting from the lowest rung in the kitchen to becoming a chef in the old-fashioned way of apprenticeship. "The colleges need to be pinned down for the quality of their curriculum while the hotel industry itself needs to move beyond hotel management institutes and source professionals from other fields and to train them. They are not experimenting."

Benares itself is a 140-cover restaurant and has 70 people working under Kochhar. Hiring therefore is a constant process here. After Benares in London, he opened Ananda in Ireland on similar lines and has recently bought a vineyard, Wickham, in Hampshire County, England. The sole purpose of this endeavour is to create wine and pair them with Indian food.

A restaurateur has to have a restaurant and the 40-cover Vatika will be open eight months in a year where guests will be served Indian food paired with locally-produced wine to make a complete experience. Kochhar also hopes to make a presence back home with his entrepreneurial skills and open restaurants. He is presently looking at Mumbai and Delhi as his prime locations. Yet, for a man filled with ideas and innovation, his favorite cuisine still remains the humble home-made dal and chawal, "specially the type my wife makes".