‘I don’t see food guided by trends’

He wanted to be a musician and dreamt of becoming a professional drummer in a band. He even performed as one in local Rock bands at his hometown, Kolkata but couldn’t pursue it for long. So he moved over to the next best thing he knew – cooking – after all, “I had loved cooking since the age of six”. Thus, took off a culinary roller-coaster journey that saw Chef Gaggan Anand become one of the most celebrated and respected culinary giants in the world. He is now the owner and Executive Chef of the progressive Indian restaurant, Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand.  

Born to Punjabi parents in Kolkata, Chef Gaggan attended the Indian Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology at Kovalam. After completing the course, he initially started running a home delivery service in Tollygunge, but later joined the Taj Group as a trainee. “My first cooking lesson was at IHMCT. I still remember it, I was 19 then. I cooked bread rolls, glazed carrots and caramel pudding along with red meat,” reminisces Chef Gaggan who moved to Bangkok in 2007. Talking about how he moved to the Asian nation, he says, “I visited Bangkok for an assignment on a consulting project and fell in love with the city and its people, its food and its lifestyle, and decided to make it my home. For the next two years, I worked nonstop. It was in November 2009 that I felt compelled to start my own venture, and incepted Gaggan.” The restaurant opened a year later, in November 2010. “The idea behind opening this restaurant was to change the sad state of Indian cuisine in the world and bring it to a philosophy of progression, as also to make my cuisine equally great among the others,”  he says. 

How challenging was it to move to an alien land and set up base there to popularise Indian cuisine? “I always think of it as an easy task as I believe every task is easy when you just do what you got to do, innovate your own cuisine rather than following a trend. I have always followed my heart and done what I have loved the most,” he says, No wonder, Indian cuisine is loved a lot abroad today. “My success with the cuisine says a lot about its fame outside India,” he says adding that he follows the principle of less is more with desi cooking. “It has always stood me good stead,” he remarks. 

The next nine years were professionally very successful as he got awards, accolades and recognition for his food but he wasn’t happy. “I felt my soul was empty and body tired. I felt I was getting grumpier and more upset with the fact that my partners were getting richer while I was being more and more used. Lack of challenges led to dissatisfaction,” he says.  So, in 2019, Chef Gaggan parted ways with his partners, giving them a majority stake in the company. “It was a very tough and challenging time for me, and the entire team. I was under a lot of pressure but felt that for the sake of my mental health, I had to give up fame and focus on cooking,” shares Chef Gaggan who was recently in India where he hosted a 20-day-long residency at Hyatt Regency Delhi. “I have a team of 14 exceptional people which includes my Head Chef and Director of Operations. We dished out an absolute feast, a 25-course meal of exquisitely plated and petite portions wherein each dish highlighted my unique interpretation of traditional Indian dishes with a contemporary twist. It was a complete ‘Made in India’ residency,” says Chef Gaggan, adding the Indian F&B sector looks promising and is rebounding at a great pace post-Covid19. “It’s a good start and we are hoping that we don’t get hit by another recession,” he avers. A non-believer in trends that rule the plate or the palate, Chef Gaggan says, “I don’t follow trends or see food as something that’s guided by trends. For me, it’s more about taste and experience.” 

Sharing his opinion on fusion cuisine, the experienced chef says tandoori momos are the biggest joke. “Kasundi is already a fusion of British mustard for over a century and the same is a vindaloo. I think fusion needs to be done right or it will not last long. A chowmien samosa is not fusion,” says Chef Gaggan whose advice to young and budding chefs is: Don’t give up cooking, however successful you may become. Keep cooking.