Q. What made you choose the path of culinary arts?
A. My father’s side is from Kolkata and my mother’s side is from Bangladesh, so I was blessed to be born in a family of two distinct Bengali cuisines. My mother’s cooking had a lot of influence of green chili and mustard oil. My father’s cooking was rich in cream, butter and coconut milk. Now if I trace back when did I decide to become a cook, I think that it was in my DNA and it was my destiny.
Q. You wanted to join the army initially, why did you end up enrolling yourself in Hotel Management?
A. I did my Hotel Management because it was different, it was unique and difficult. Life was never easy for me and I don’t like anything that’s easy for me. It was a lucrative option too. I had a bad foot injury and I knew that my medicals wouldn’t clear. For me, I was always clear that it is either army or becoming a chef.
Q. You have worked with several international chefs too. What is the most memorable association?
A. Jean Claude Fugier. He is the one who taught me how to cook. And then there is another Chef Agnimitra Sharma. He was the first one to employ me.
Q. You have also won several awards and you had also been named Forbes 30 under 30 2018 achiever in culinary category. What does this recognition mean to you?
A. The day goes and the feeling goes. I am very grateful but I don’t let it sit in my head. I still can’t believe that I am the 2019 Ambassador of Cuisine in France.
Q. What inspires you?
A. Art inspires me. I am a very out-of-the-box sort of a chef. And my basics are strong both for Bengali and French. I have been cooking French food for the last nine years. But I think I am artist who found food as an expression. So I can club these two and come up with something unique.