THE ACCIDENTAL CHEF

ADITYA PRABHU, 45 Owner, Gourmet Nine, Chandigarh

Ahospitality professional with over 26 years of experience, Aditya Prabhu left his comfortable job to open his maiden restaurant Gourmet Nine in 2013, to make and serve cuisines that he was really passionate about. Prabhu, who had earlier worked with brands such as Taj Hotels, Ramada, and Mainland China says, “I always had a fascination for food and a passion to cook.”

Bite This Gourmet Nine’s name comes from playing around with nine different types of cuisine from Bengal, Rajasthan, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Pan Asian. “My USP lies in regional cuisines. We always wish that people order things other than butter chicken at our restaurant because we want them to try out stuff from all these regions,” he says.

Different Hats “Chandigarh never disappoints. The city loves me and vice-a-versa. I have always strived to do different things here. Be it preparing the menu and setting up the kitchen for tricity’s largest European lounge, Barcode IXC, or for an upcoming tapas bar Palate, or that for Rebel Bar and Kitchen, or coming up with a fast food and buffet concept called Natwarlal at Ambala—with every project I dare to be different when it comes to cuisines,” he says.

Five Years On Cooking exclusive regional delicacies and getting the city to accept it. Also I would love to serve chef Gordon Ramsay sometime.

A Dish in My Plate Meen Pulichattu from Kerala which has given me recognition in the city.

My Kitchen Idol All the chefs who have trained me.