Chef Manjunath Mural

Hailing from a family of doctors, medicine would have been the obvious career choice for Mumbai-born chef Manjunath Mural in the 1990s. Much to the surprise of his friends and family, he enrolled at Bengaluru's Institute of Hotel Management. "They laughed, 'What will you become? A cook?' That motivated me to become a chef," recalls Mural, who went on to train at Taj President, and with Sanjeev Kapoor and Milind Sovani (Juhu's Centaur), before the latter invited him to join as sous chef at his restaurant, The Song Of India in central Singapore. This was in 1996.

When Sovani left five years back, Mural took over the reigns as head chef and multiplied its success, turning it into the best fine-dine for Indian cuisine in Singapore. Last month, when the tiny nation launched its first Michelin Guide, Mural won the coveted star — no mean feat; after all, it's the first time that an Indian restaurant in South-East Asia has won the honour. "It's a dream come true," Mural beams, as he readies to celebrate the landmark with an eight-course dinner themed on the royal palaces of India. The one-night-only event, featuring off-the-menu creations is part of the inaugural local Michelin Chef Showcase, organised by Robert Parker Wine Advocate in partnership with Michelin, in Singapore on September 30.

Excerpts from an interview:

Does a Michelin star put pressure on you?
The pressure is even more now. We have to work harder as a
team to maintain our achievement. We also have to work on refining our food and representing Indian cuisine.