A look at the top five chefs who will have a rocking 2016

By Anoothi Vishal, freelance writer

ET Magazine takes a look at the top five chefs who will break new ground in what is going to be an eventful year in their careers.

1. Chef Manish Mehrotra, Indian Accent
2016 will be as significant for Mehrotra as 2009, the year in which Indian Accent opened. Mehrotra will take centrestage in New York and remain there for the coming six months, helming IA’s new outpost.


At stake is not just his reputation but also the future of the cuisine globally. The chef has been successfully able to marry detailed local references, his own food memories and "authentic" flavours with modern presentations.

Mehrotra is clear the language of food needs to change. He is also clear that what may have worked in Delhi — Indianised taco and ravioli presentations et al he unleashed and that have been copied ad infinitum since — may not work within the Ame rican food culture. The language needs to be more self-referencing yet contemporary.
So, yes, kathal, karela and even sarason ka saag… but reimagined.









2. Chef Manu Chandra, Olive Beach, Monkey Bar, The Fatty Bao
Arguably the most intelligent chef (and restaurateur) in our midst, Chandra has constantly reinvented both himself as chef, and restaurant food in India. When he launched Monkey Bar in 2012, it spelt a complete reworking of the tropes of bar food in India. Seriously detailed regional dishes took centrestage in no-fuss ways in sync with the sensibilities of the young, selfconfident "desi": Neither the chicken tikka gent nor the falafel lady.


Since then, in all his menus, Chandra has shown an increasing preoccupation with making "old-fashioned" regional dishes casual-chic, retaining their soul and details.

When the company Olive Bar and Kitchens goes to London, with one of its "Indian brands", as restaurateur AD Singh says without giving out details, it may be fair to assume that Monkey (in a newer avatar) makes its across-ocean leap.










3. Chef Atul Kochhar, NRI


If Indian chefs are headed out, London-veteran Atul Kochhar is headed home. 2016 will be a significant year as we watch the fate of NRI, Kochhar's new brand in Mumbai, to serve up diaspora food. One of the most exciting and fresh restaurant concepts in our midst. Watch this space.




















4. Chef Vikramjit Roy



Tian at the ITC Maurya was one of 2015's most critically acclaimed restaurants, helmed by Roy whose unique thought-process showed on his plates. Roy has been spectacular in his judicious use of Molecular Gastronomy and newer techniques to give us food that still tastes good and does not come across as gimmicky. Come January and he will be busy launching a rooftop bar (and microbrewery) in Bengaluru with Speciality Restaurant's Anjan Chatterjee.


On the platter will be a more casual version of Roy's style of cooking. The direction he seems to be taking is reworking much-loved Asian dishes — crispy konjee lamb, black bean sauce, Balinese satay (spectacularly converted to a mousse and then reassembled) and refashioned chilli chicken — to give us a taste of the familiar-yet-exotic.







5. Chef Ranveer Brar
Brar may have gone the TV route but remains a creative name to watch out. He has done the menu for MTV@Flyp, MTV/ViaCom’s foray into the café biz. Watch his plates.