Friday, April 24, 2009

Fish Food from Celebrity Chef Atul Kochhar

Unless you are a food critic, not many people have the privilege of eating on the job. But I decided it was feeding time right there in The Living Room in the midst of today's chat. I can't imagine our guest taking offence at Pam and I tucking in to glorious Indian food that he'd painstakingly brought into our Living Room. Say hello to Celebrity Chef, Atul Kochhar.

This Michelin-starred chef who's owner of Benares Restaurant & Bar in London, takes credit for being the first Indian chef to take his place in the galaxy of master chefs from around the world. Being Asian, I'm proud he's up there with the rest and being the face of Indian fare in London where he lives with his family. Atul is a regular face on British TV and when I asked him if there'd be another cause he would champion if it wasn't Indian cuisine, he shot back matter-of-factly, "Indian cricket!"

Contrary to comonly-held notions that chefs don't cook when they're home (since they already do that for a living), Atul reveals he's happy to relief his wife and prepare simple meals for his kids like pizzas and pastas.

Chef Atul's done just about everything. He's set up his own restaurant and has earned his (Michelin) stars; he's a celebrity on British television and has written books on food. I couldn't help but wonder what was next on the cards for him. "Maybe a restaurant in Singapore", he said with a half smile half grin on his face. I don't quite know what to make of his reply and how honest it was, but he was truly one honest chef who's revolutionising the world's perception of Indian cuisine, of which he says there's no single dish that's authentically Indian.

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Congratulations to our listeners who correctly identified the fine-dining restaurant that is serving up the signature dishes of Chef Atul at this year's World Gourmet Summit. The correct answer is 'Rang Mahal'. You've won yourself an autographed copy of Chef Atul's book, Fish Indian Style and will be hearing
from us real soon! Keep your eyes glued to our blog for more giveaways!

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