ET World Leaders Forum: If AI takes over, it's the end of cooking, says Gaggan Anand

Provocative, playful, progressive - these are some of the words used to describe chef Gaggan Anand's mastery in the kitchen. They could just as easily be used to describe the man himself.

Speaking at the event hosted in New Delhi's Taj Palace hotel was a homecoming for the celebrated chef now based in Bangkok-he was back in the same building he started his career at. "I just wanted to follow a dream," he said.

That dream has seen Anand become a four-time winner of Asia's Best Restaurant award (2015-2018), having his restaurant Gaggan ranked No. 4 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019 and earning him two Michelin stars and global acclaim for redefining fine dining.


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But even with all his success, the idea of opening a restaurant in India wasn't something he dared think of 15 years ago. Today, it's different.

"We've grown," he said, adding that India has learnt to eat better. "India has become that animal that consumes not only good food, but also the luxury of cooking from different parts of the world. We've become world travellers. We've started to understand the global cooking scene."

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Whether it's finance, food or the finest in luxury, "Indians are the next big thing," Anand said. "If you go to Paris or New York and sit in a fancy restaurant, the table next to you will likely be an Indian banker, an Indian foodie, or an Indian enthusiast," he said.

Hopefully, "no influencers," he added, tongue in cheek.

There is something else Chef Gaggan is not enthused about - artificial intelligence. "I am anti-AI," he declared.

He believes that cooking is one of the last things that connects us to our heritage. "If we forget our grandmother's recipes, that's a legacy we're losing. We need to document it, preserve it. If AI takes over that process, I think it's the end of cooking. And if cooking dies, humanity dies," he said.

Anand said he is pro-AI in helping to cure cancer, solving world hunger, and making business efficient. But he doesn't want AI to touch food. "I'm a massive analogue guy living in a digital world," he said.