CONSISTENT FLAVOURS

Vineet Bhatia’s life has been dominated by cooking and travel – which makes him the ideal Guest of Honour at this month’s Business Traveller Middle East Awards

Vineet Bhatia will be Guest of Honour at this month’s Business Traveller Middle East Awards

They say our formative years leave an indelible mark on our characters – and that’s certainly the case with Vineet Bhatia, who will be Guest of Honour at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2017 in Palazzo Versace Dubai’s ballroom on April 23. His early passions in life were aeroplanes and his mother’s cooking.

“When I was a young child, I didn’t have an alarm clock. I didn’t need one. I was awakened at 6.30 each morning by the roaring engines of the DC-10 that took off from the airport near our house in Bombay,” said the world-renowned chef, who recently met HM Queen Elizabeth II in a reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the start of the UK-India Year of Culture.“I’d pass by a small flying club and stare endlessly at the Cessnas taking off and landing, marvelling at their speed and their aura of luxury.”

At 17, he took the national defence exam in hopes of joining the Air Force, but failed the physical part of the test. No matter, the travel seed was firmly planted – although the path to culinary stardom wasn’t smooth at first.“I never felt that I had a knack for it. My first few attempts at cooking on my own were downright failures,” he recalls.

But he persevered and the Oberoi group spotted his talent for his culinary passion, recruiting him as a trainee in 1988, and he remained there for three years learning all aspects of Indian cuisine.

“As a rule the cream of the class were absorbed in the French kitchens but I stuck to Indian, much to the dismay of my seniors who almost threatened me to go French.”After Delhi, it was Mumbai calling as Vineet was appointed as Chef De Cuisine at Oberoi (Mewar and Kandahar Restaurant). These traditionally rigid kitchens gave him no space to experiment with his creations. While on the other hand his French counterparts were being applauded for their daredevilry in cuisine.

Frustrated, Vineet decided to move to London, unaware that curious Anglo-Indian spicy stews over large drinks were being gulped down by Britons.

When he arrived in London in 1993, he was disappointed by Indian food’s representation. He started work at the Star of India (Old Brompton Road, South Kensington) by immediately creating a professional environment in the kitchen and then slowly moved his attention to the food and the menu.

In April 1999, Vineet partnered and opened Zaika, first in Chelsea, then in a new home in Kensington High Street. Restaurant critics began to take notice and Fay Maschler anticipated he would climb great culinary heights – prophetically as it turned out. In 2001, Zaika was awarded a Michelin star, making Vineet the first Indian chef-restaurateur to receive this honour.

Today Vineet Bhatia London, housed inside a Georgian townhouse off the Kings Road, serves modern takes on well-known dishes such as chaat, duck korma and chilli cod. When he’s not travelling, he lives in London with his wife Rashima and their two sons, Varaul and Ronit.

Among most hoteliers, he needs no introduction. Maharaja by Vineet at Movenpick Al Khobar has been going for eight years “and it’s as beautiful as ever” he wrote on Twitter recently (another restaurant is in Riyadh); Indego by Vineet at Grosvenor House Dubai is similarly a 12-year institution which has “set the benchmark”; Doha’s Saffron Lounge, in Katara, provides diners with the opportunity to explore India’s different flavours.