From ‘Indian accident’ to Indian (whoa!) Accent

Every time we have dined at the Indian Accent in Mumbai or Delhi Chef Manish Mehrotra has stepped out of the kitchen to take us through the menu and even dropped us off at the door As if we were dining at his home His warm hospitality is well known among the iconic restaurantrsquos regular patronsEarlier this week Mehrotra 50 announced his departure from the establishment that he helped transform into a global culinary landmark Under relentless pressure to maintain its reputation and constantly innovate Mehrotrarsquos efforts brought accolades and international recognition to Indian cuisine He says he leaves Indian Accent in capable hands This transition allows Mehrotra to explore new opportunities focus on personal wellbeing and cherish the moments he missed with familyYour culinary journey began in Mumbai Tell us more about itIn 1992 after I passed Grade 12 I accompanied my elder brother to Mumbai to seek admission at Dadar Catering College Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology amp Applied Nutrition My family for generations have lived in Patna and my parents were hesitantmdashMumbai had the mayanagari tag Delhi seemed more accessible but my brother insisted on Mumbai for this prestigious hotel management school There was nothing like itI had studied in a Hindimedium school with no big dreams I was good in extracurricular activities not academics So engineering and medicine were not options My brother and I didnrsquot want to join my fatherrsquos petrol pump business He sibling now runs a successful bakery and confectionery business across cities in BiharWhen I first arrived in Mumbai I stayed as a paying guest near Khar Gymkhana sharing space with a Bollywood aspirant and an Iranian businessman Six months later I moved to the college hostel College life was fun and although I hadnrsquot decided on a kitchen career I was happy when teachers praised my cooking and classmates sought my help Some individuals are natural in the kitchen others are so bad that khana jalna hi jalna hai their food is bound to burn I fared well in the first practical exam and headed the kitchen team during the college fest gradually establishing my skillsI completed industrial training at Hyatt Regency in Delhi where I once dropped a tray on a lady guestMy first job was at Taj Presidentrsquos Thai Pavilion under the disciplined Chef Johnson who we learnt would sprint from Churchgate to Cuffe Parade to stay fitBack then Mumbairsquos Taj President was at its peak Its restaurant were rocking Thai Pavilion and Konkan Cafeacute its coffee shop Trattoria had celebrities like Aamir Khan waiting at 4 am for a table I lived in Jogeshwari East in shared accommodation often dozing off on the train and waking up only at Goregaon Later we moved to the legendary Kerawala accommodation by Taj with five people sharing a room watching the sea the Gateway of India and the Radio Club with awe There was no plug point television or radiomdashbut we had the best view in the city We called it the lsquoKerawala PenthousersquoMy parents were proudmdashtheir son worked at the Taj Sanjeev Kapoor had made the profession respectable in India However buying a house in Bombay was difficult Although jobs were scarce in the capital moving back to Delhi was more accessible IHC called me for trials liked my food and thatrsquos how my journey with Old World Hospitality beganWhat was your inspiration on this journeyI went from Delhi to London to manage the companyrsquos restaurant this was a gamechanger I was trained as a PanAsian chef I worked with Thai and oriental cuisines In London I learned different techniques and gained a new perspective on cooking I had been a frog in the well now seeing the world I got to work with ingredients like caviar foie gras scallop and langoustine I had only seen these in photos This deepened my fascination with cookingI wasnrsquot a traditionally trained chef so I approached cooking without preconceived notions For example I knew biryani could be cooked in a combi oven instead of on an open flame We conducted our first trial in India without the burden of traditional methods and everyone liked itBack in India at The Manor Hotel we wanted to start Indian Accent in November 2008 However the 2611 terror attack that month left the whole country in grief and delayed our plans We finally launched in March 2009And people still werenrsquot ready for itA celebrity who dined at Indian Accent remarked ldquoThis is not an Indian Accent this is an lsquoIndian accidentrsquordquo That was dishearteninghellipdil baith gaya I was despondent But it didnrsquot stop us We didnrsquot bow to the pressure to serve butter chicken We started talking to the guests explaining to them what our food was about Occasionally a purist would walk in and be upset that we didnrsquot serve their favourite kebab korma kaliya and biryani but we werenrsquot catering to them anywayIn 2012 I won a competition on a television show called Foodistan which got me some recognition The Manorrsquos location was oddmdashnestled in Friends Colony people often reached Defence or New Friends Colony and called us The colonyrsquos gates shut early and there was onegate access but people started coming and slowly understood what we were doing With constant support from hospitality entrepreneur Rohit Khattarmdashhe never pressured me to add Manchurian and chowmeinmdashI had creative freedom We served regular khana and pasta at our banquet partiesmdashalways on the lawns it never appeared on the menuYou started the awards drama and aspiration in India What was that likeThere were no PRs social media no YouTube no influencers back then print media was king We didnrsquot chase awards back in the day there were barely a fewThe Manor had foreign guests at one point it was an Aman property and they spread the word International recognition was the turning pointIn 2013 we made it onto the Asiarsquos 50 Best list I was surprisedmdashyeh kya ho gaya Of the seven on the list five winners were from 5star restaurants At one point Indian Accent was the only one from India with Gaggan Anand celebrated chef as the only other person representing Indian cuisine In 2015 we were listed in Time magazine which benefited us A piece by Tom Sietsema in The Washington Post boosted our reputationGuchhi matar asparagus and Kashmiri morel pulao at Indian Accent File picWhat was Manish Mehrotra the person feeling during this phase of fameThe pressure was immense I was living and breathing Indian Accent I devoted so much time to the restaurant that my home and family took a backseatWith fame came higher expectations and some diners who didnrsquot understand the cuisine would still complainmdashrdquoYour restaurant has so many accolades but you donrsquot serve butter chicken and papadrdquoWe were pioneers in India for tasting menus paired with wine and maintaining consistency was a monumental task Opening a restaurant is hard but taking it to a certain level and keeping it there is a hundred times harderYou have trained some of the best chefs in the world who went on to win Michelin stars You didnrsquot get oneI joke about it all the time When Indian Accent became famous our staff was poached Some would call from the airport to say they were moving on but we let them go with a smile Everyone who has left the kitchen has done well for themselves They keep in touch and some younger talent touch my feet when we meet Chefs like Himanshu Saini Saurabh Udina Chetan Shetty and Sanjeev Nair make me proud They are spreading their wings Rijul Gulati was a trainee Shantanu Mehrotra was a management trainee Raveesh Kapoor started as a trainee and now handles New York and Dheeraj Dargan is at Comorin mdashI have scolded all of them at some point The Indian Accent kitchen is tough Maintaining consistency and fine dining is hard when you feed 100 tasting menus daily Doing this on a lunchdinner cycle is insanemdashadd to that big weddings and catering and the work never stopsMehrotra aims to spend his retirement time by walking eating homecooked food resting and looking after the plants on his terrace PicNishad AlamWhat are your regretsI have many Relatives stopped inviting us to family gatherings because I was always busy My wife and daughter couldnrsquot go Most plans were made on weekends and I couldnrsquot be part of them A restaurant requires that kind of commitment Once it reaches a certain level you must be on your toes or it will falterVindhya late wife was my most significant support She understood this life We met when she was training at Konkan Cafe and I was at Thai Pavilion She was hardworking dedicated emotional and passionate She didnrsquot complain when I returned at 2 am or couldnrsquot drop our daughter to schoolShe was the biggest reason I could concentrate on Indian Accent A Tamilian from Dindigul she lived with her family in Pune She joined me in Delhi when we married in 2001 She was a fantastic chef who adapted quickly to my familyrsquos UPBihar cooking style My father who never ate onion and garlic and never dined at my restaurants loved her food because she made it with so much loveIn the last few years she has become vegetarian but continued to make nonvegetarian dishes with the same flair for everyoneOur daughter Adah is heading to the Culinary Institute of America this September She is just as passionate as us I hope this passion continues She makes excellent food Most days we head to the modern bazaar and buy blue cheese bacon and other ingredients and she makes a delicious pizza that we devour She is also my greatest critic As a single parent I spend as much time with her as possible We travel together and we eat out a lotWhat does the future look likeI have no plans at the moment I donrsquot have the excuse of being busy so I will attend all the Diwali card parties this year celebrate Dussehra and Durga Puja and travel more After that letrsquos see whatrsquos in store Whatever I do I will do it on my terms Indian Accent is at its peakmdashsales are fabulous and the team is welltrained The brand is in good hands Over the last 15 years I documented all the recipesmdashthey know howit worksWhatrsquos next for the Indian cuisineSo many ideas and concepts in the culinary world can work here in India We are yet to scratch the surface and I am not talking about vague trends I will think travel and see what I can do betterTell us one thing your staff knows and we donrsquotI am a huge movie buff Unfortunately very few good movies release these days But my knowledge about films is desirable I love listening to music and I am a total newspaper person What you get to read in a newspaper you may not always get online I also have a great collection of cookbooksIrsquoll get into a routine and pay attention to my health by walking eating homecooked food resting and looking after the plants on my terracemdashall the things I never did I want to do them nowMy FavouritesMy favourite breakfastSoftboiled egg and buttered toast I have a thing for itMy favourite South Indian foodPink idlis made from red rice My motherinlaw has a recipe for themFavourite mealPrawn curry with rice on a thali