TANIA GHOSH, 33 Executive Chef, M Bar Kitchen, Kolkata

It is hard to imagine

that the young petite woman holding up a plate of potato parmigiana is an executive chef in charge of three successful kitchens in the city. But appearances can be deceptive, for Tania Ghosh packs some serious cooking chops.

While growing up, Ghosh wanted to be an archaeologist but changed her mind when her father helped her identify her talent for cooking. A graduate from the Indian Institute of Hotel Management Bangalore, Ghosh has worked at Taj Bengal as well as at The Park Kolkata. However, it was her experience in the kitchens of The Park Kolkata that proved to be a turning point in her career. Talking about how Chef Sharad Dewan, regional director food production at The Park mentored her and provided her with an opportunity of a lifetime, she says, “Chef Dewan's training and support made it easy for me to conceptualise the menus at the restaurants. I almost had independent charge of The Street and the reopening of Zen and that turned out to be a huge learning experience for me,” says Ghosh.

Cooking up a Storm

The talented chef, who is a purist when it comes to ingredients says, “I refuse to serve a tiramisu if I am unable to source the right quality of mascarpone cheese.” Not one to shy away from experimenting, Ghosh came up with the idea of using a mushroom base sauce instead of a regular tomato one when her partner Varun Memani asked for a pizza loaded with mushrooms. “We created a mousse with button mushrooms, porcini and shiitake and used that as the base sauce,” says Ghosh. Topped with sautéed button mushrooms and arugula, the mad about mushroom pizza is now one of their most popular dishes.