From Bollywood celebrities to Indian cricket legends, everyone’s in love with this chefprenuer’s gourmet take on clean indulgences

Shivani Sharma founder of Gourmestan is on a mission to make Indiafirst ingredients the centrepiece of refined clean eating Her mantra is simple gourmet food doesnrsquot need to be indulgent to feel indulgent it just needs a little care context and creativity And a glimpse into her impressive roster of regularswhich includes some of BTownrsquos hottest names such as Sonam Kapoor Hritik Roshan Kareena and Karisma Kapoor as well as cricket heavyhitters Sachin Tendulkar Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohliproves that her clean take on gourmet feasting has several repeat takersIn this freewheeling conversation she shares the secrets to her success as well as the way ahead for clean eating in IndiaQ You often speak about ldquoelevating simplicityrdquo What does that mean in a world obsessed with excess and fusionShivani Sharma For me simplicity isnrsquot basic itrsquos foundational When I was studying in London I often found myself missing the depth of homestyle food the kind thatrsquos quietly comforting yet packed with technique goodforyou ingredients and a wholesome ethos At Gourmestan wersquove tried to bring that same sentiment to the plate Whether itrsquos a milletbased cake or our vegan cheeses we focus on ingredients that are clean honest and rooted in our food culture Elevating simplicity is about honouring the ingredient not masking itQ So many people still associate ldquoclean eatingrdquo with bland food Yoursquove flipped that HowShivani Sharma I think the concept of clean eating is often misunderstood Itrsquos not about restriction itrsquos about respect for your body for the planet and for the ingredient When you treat the simplest ingredients such as millets nuts and jaggery with finesse and nuanced understanding the results are incredible For instance our milletbased brownies have a fudgy indulgent texture that surprises peopleQ Whatrsquos the biggest misconception people have about glutenfree or vegan dessertsShivani Sharma That its dry crumbly or too lsquohealthy tastingrsquo Once upon a time that used to be the case But innovationin terms of ingredients techniques and even equipmenthas caught up Today we create milletbased vegan cakes that are as moist and decadent as their butter and refined sugarladen counterparts Itrsquos about understanding the properties of each grain or fat substitute and how to coax flavour from them I always sayIrsquom not replicating traditional desserts Irsquom creating a new traditionQ Why Indiafirst ingredients What made you double down on them when it mightrsquove been easier to follow global trendsShivani Sharma Because our larder is magic We donrsquot need to chase chia when we have sabja or quinoa when we have kutki and kodo Irsquom not against global ingredients Irsquom interested in what it means to build a new kind of gourmet experience thatrsquos distinctly ours Indiafirst isnrsquot just a sourcing choiceitrsquos an identity choice Therersquos pride in cooking with whats ours and I want to make that aspirational againQ Gourmestan started as a cloud kitchen Now yoursquore moving into gifting cafeacutes and even storytelling through a podcast Whatrsquos the larger visionShivani Sharma The goal has never been just to run a kitchen itrsquos to build an ecosystem Food touches everything memory wellness community Our podcast is an extension of that it highlights the invisible contributors who power the FampB industry The gifting line is about sharing nostalgia in a box And our cafeacute spaces would be clean beautiful places to experience our kind of mindful indulgence Every step is part of a bigger designQ Whatrsquos one ingredient or dish you think will define the future of Indian gourmet diningShivani Sharma Millets without questionbut not just as a health food I see them in layered desserts artisanal breads and even traditional mithai formats We just need to move them from the lsquodietrsquo category to the lsquodesiredrsquo category Once people taste how versatile they are the shift will happen organically The future of gourmet isnrsquot in imports itrsquos in reinventionQ Whats next on your radar Any trends youre excited aboutShivani Sharma I think 2025 will be the year of lsquodeep localrsquo Wersquoll see microregional ingredientssuch as Bhut Jolokia kokum and Kodagu honeybeing used in patisserie and savoury Also functional desserts are having a moment think adaptogeninfused chocolates or proteinrich mithai But more than trends Irsquom excited to keep making desserts that surprise you in the best way possible and nourish them from within

From Bollywood celebrities to Indian cricket legends, everyone’s in love with this chefprenuer’s gourmet take on clean indulgences

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From Bollywood celebrities to Indian cricket legends, everyone’s in love with this chefprenuer’s gourmet take on clean indulgences

Other Articles

Mid-Day Fast