Chef Kunal Kapur is a familiar face to those who watch Master Chef India?the fresh-faced and amiable 30-something chef belies in some measure the surly reputation of his ilk. He is the ?new wave? of chefs that is emerging from kitchens across the country. Young chefs who want to do more than ?only? run a kitchen. It is something that older chefs consider with some consternation. After all, traditional thought says a chef’s rightful place is in the kitchen and not ?chit-chatting? with the hoi polloi!
I met chef Kunal at the launch of his cookbook, A Chef in Every Home. It is a wonderful title, even if it demystifies the term ?chef?. But then, reality shows have shown the profession to be a ?sport for amateurs? ?not my term, but gleaned from a conversation I once had with senior chefs. Sure, there is a section in the business that turns its nose up on these activities. But in my opinion, chefs like Kunal are a breath of fresh air, adding a little colour to the world of whites.
The immense readability of his cookbook is what makes it most appealing to me. It isn?t obscure or beyond the reach of the home cook. It uses home ingredients to make these home-style recipes with a five-star flair and includes a diverse range of dishes.
For all the times you want to ?eat out? the indulgent bane of modern, busy living, this book comes to the rescue. It?s easy to tell why, the man behind the book is all about making food, even gourmet food, accessible.
As a young boy, he sat on the kitchen counter and stirred the dal, giving his father and grandfather company?yes, in this family of bankers, all the men cooked! It began then. At this live demo cooking event, his toddler son balances himself on a similar spot and watches daddy at work. The cooking genes run deep. It could also be the fact that Kunal is so keen on making his profession seem fun and something worthy. A deep bias that he acknowledges, and indeed I do as well (given my years in the hospitality business), of a prevalent dismissive attitude that is extended to the profession has to be changed.
There is change, but only very recently, and chefs like Kunal play an important part. They become role models for the thousands of young people who enroll in hospitality colleges around the country. He himself spoke of an instance when a family of a young man who was keen on entering the business approached him to dissuade their son. It was not something Kunal could do in good faith.
Unfortunately in India, chefs do not make enough money to raise capital to start their own enterprises. If you speak to chefs, most nurture the ambition of having their own restaurant, a place that they can run with the freedom they desire.
However, hospitality companies are becoming more open to giving chefs more room and letting them experiment with their creative sides. Chef Kunal has a regular job with the Leela Palace Hotel. Another chef I met from another competing chain had been granted a paid sabbatical for a year to research Himachali food. Taj Hotels routinely send their chefs out on recess around the country, and sometimes the world, to get the best there is in modern cuisine, or authenticity, as be the requirement.
The business is getting more flexible. Although the cadre-like discipline in the kitchens continues, there is greater freedom for these artists from even ten years ago. And let?s be honest, cooking is creative and chefs come with a temperament! Now, this could very well be savvy HR engagement policy or a genuine recognition of the individual and his need for creative expression, but it?s well-timed?as a buffet of opportunities becomes available.
Cookbooks, for example, although expensive to produce, still find publishers, especially Indian ones. Till a few years ago, this terrain was the province of the international chef, now we have our own desi culinary maestros rubbing spines with the Nigella Lawsons and Jamie Olivers of the world.
Of course, this means the Indian cookbook reader is open to Indian chefs, but it also means that when a young kid who wants to be a bawarchi walks into a book shop and shepherds his parents to a book of interest, he has someone out there who can make his case.