Indian chefs and restaurateurs highlight what a Michelin star could do for Indian food

The Michelin key is there The rumours are growing And while an India Guide remains unconfirmed the conversation has moved beyond whether India is ready Chefs restaurateurs and food voices are already asking what Michelin could change for us from global recognition and kitchen culture to regional food stories and careerslsquoNeither chef nor restaurant brings Michelin stars the product doesrsquoGaggan Anand Gaggan SATO Ms Maria amp Mr Singh Bangkok RAGA New DelhildquoMy journey began when I went to Bangkok in 2007 and dreamed of getting a star In 2018 we finally got one and then a second But that journey is personal Every restaurant in India will have its own story When we started Gaggan only a few Indian restaurants had a Michelin star we were the first in Asia What has happened in the last five years is phenomenalWhile everybody wants to come to Mumbai or Delhi India has a much bigger future Look at China Bangkok or Japan where different cities have developed their own food identities India could have 30 cities with 30 different food identities But it has to build the foundation firstBeyond the prestige Michelin can create a major shift If chefs want to work in India they will have an incentive to build something of their own I think wersquore ready now We should focus on a placersquos food and let restaurants tell their own story And very good chefs can come from ordinary restaurants not just fine dining Just stay rooted and do your own work ultimately the product earns the accoladesGovernment support can also help create food destinations as it has in other countries Tourism transport and promotion create a larger ecosystem that makes people travel to explore newer culinary destinationsrdquolsquoChefs wonrsquot have to leave India to gain worldclass experiencersquoGarima Arora Gaa Bangkok Banng Mumbai and DelhiMichelinrsquos entry into India could be a major catalyst on two fronts global validation and operational rigour Indian cuisine has long been pigeonholed internationally as either cheap comforting street food or overly spiced curryhouse fare It could push global culinary media to engage with Indian food through technique microseasonality and ingredient provenanceAt home the impact could be equally significant Young cooks would have less reason to leave Mumbai Delhi or Bengaluru to train in worldclass disciplined kitchens It could strengthen supply chains encourage local farming for niche produce and build a culture where consistency technique and precise hospitality matter Beyond the hype it could create a more structured career path for the next generation of Indian hospitality talentBut Michelin cannot simply transplant its traditional French framework onto India European service styles formal dining rooms and wineled pairings do not capture the breadth of Indian dining The Guide has evolved in markets such as Bangkok Tokyo and Singapore and India will require the same flexibilityIndian food is communal emotional and deeply rooted in home traditions and hyperlocal techniques that do not always fit neatly into tasting menus Hospitality too is different Warm intuitive Indian service cannot be measured solely through the lens of formal silver serviceTechnique should matter more than luxury A star should recognise a chef mastering fermentation in the Northeast perfecting a slowcooking technique in a tandoor or executing a complex tadka rooted in generations of knowledge not simply a restaurant importing caviar or truffleIf Michelin approaches India strictly through a Western finedining lens it risks missing the depth of its food culture But if it gives real weight to Bib Gourmands historic institutions regional cuisines and technique over tablecloths its India chapter could be genuinely transformative And the story cannot stop at Mumbai and Delhi Kolkata Chennai Nagaland Meghalaya and countless other regions have food traditions that deserve a much wider audiencerdquolsquoMichelin is late in India by at least eight yearsrsquoManish Mehrotra Founder Nisaba New DelhildquoMichelin in India will definitely help the industry especially chefs and restaurants in getting more recognition within the country and globally It will certainly boost tourism here as well More people will come to India for the food as they go to Spain Italy and Thailand for culinary adventuresThe chef community will get a lot of encouragement Chefs will be taken more seriously because most often it is the chefrsquos work that gets the star so if the chef goes Michelin goes Unlike the rest of the world in India most chefs are employees not necessarily partners I have also worked as an employee for most of my life So definitely chefs will get their duesMichelin has to cover all of India because so many restaurants deserve a star They might start mostly in the big cities because India is so vast They may start with one or a few cities then slowly cover the rest of the countryBut with a country this large they also have to be very careful about how they communicate Michelin has so many categories and sometimes a restaurant with a strong PR machine that gets a mention makes such a big fuss about it that it overshadows another restaurant that has received a star The messaging has to be very clear especially in the beginning so that the audience doesnrsquot get confusedrdquolsquoCovering more ground will make sense for a guide born from a tyre company to encouragersquoAditi Dugar Co Founder Masque BaR Paradox and Twentyseven BakehouseldquoIndian cuisine has been ready for the global stage for years It is layered deeply documented and shaped over generations with incredible chefs and restaurants doing important work Michelin coming to India would give the industry another global benchmark and place Indian restaurants in a different international conversationThat conversation is already growing through Asiarsquos 50 Best The Worldrsquos 50 Best Tatler The Best Chef Awards and La Liste which give restaurants a global platform But Michelin carries particular weight It is one of the worldrsquos most recognised dining guides with a rigorous and consistent approach to evaluating restaurants Its stars are based on the quality of the cooking using clearly defined criteria around ingredients technique flavour the personality of the chef value and consistency A Michelin star signals that a restaurant has met those culinary standards giving it a distinct position on the international dining stageMichelin has also evolved It now recognises street hawkers and small restaurants not just fine dining In India that could mean spotlighting experimentation technique and forgotten food traditions rather than restricting the Guide to the metros Restaurant awards have historically centred on cities with established hospitality ecosystems larger dining audiences talent and investment Michelin can widen that lens bringing smaller cities and lesserknown establishments into the conversationAs a diner that has been my experience of the Guide it goes deep and covers a lot of ground That makes sense for a guide born from a tyre company and created to encourage people to travel Indiarsquos food story extends far beyond Mumbai and DelhiBengaluru Goa and Kolkata have vibrant food cultures while the Northeast Ladakh Uttarakhand and Kerala offer distinctive cuisines and ingredients that are often underrepresented Kolkatarsquos food culture has a great mix of communities and influences that particularly resonate with me as a Marwari Selfishly Irsquod love to be the first threeMichelinstar restaurant in the country but India also has so much else to offerrdquolsquoWe can stay in India and tell our own culinary storiesrsquoHussain Shahzad Executive Chef Hunger Inc HospitalityldquoMichelin coming to India is a really exciting moment for Indian restaurants and chefs Irsquove grown up watching Michelin and have worked in Michelinstarred restaurants so it has always been an aspirational benchmark for me What feels particularly special now is that we can stay in India cook the food we believe in tell stories about our own cuisines and still aspire to that recognition hereFor the wider chef community I think it creates a healthy sense of collaboration and gives us another benchmark to work towards Over the last decade Indian chefs have found a much stronger voice on the global stage and Indian cuisine is increasingly being taken seriously as food that can compete anywhere in the world Michelin coming to India can reinforce that progress and give the work being done by chefs here another layer of recognitionrdquolsquoMichelin inspectors visit anonymously and restaurants can be inspected multiple timesrsquoChef Himanshu Saini Tresind Studio DubaildquoThe first impact of Michelin coming to India will be on gastronomic tourism Michelin is one of the most prestigious and respected organisations and once the guide comes you will see travellers making a point of visiting these restaurants We see this in Dubai where people with even a few hours between flights make reservations dine and head back to the airportRestaurants become busier and the wider impact is felt on tourism and the economy For the chef community it is the highest recognition you can get Every chef has the ambition to earn Michelin stars Michelin is not simply about the food It looks at the ingredient quality the chefrsquos personality on the plate how original the idea is and most importantly consistency It is about the entire experience and how memorable you can make a mealWhen Michelin came to Dubai restaurants took what they do more seriously There was competitiveness but in a good way and that elevated the dining scene In India I think the guide can do something similar And there are so many myths around Michelin You donrsquot need an expensive restaurant white tablecloths or a particular kind of serviceYou can have a small restaurant a bistro a cafeacute or even street food Michelin has the Bib Gourmand for places that offer exceptional food at a more accessible price point The process takes time Itrsquos not simply one inspector walking into a restaurant once having a meal and making a decision Michelin inspectors visit anonymously and restaurants can be inspected multiple times Consistency is really an important part of the processrdquoWhat is The Michelin GuideThe Michelin Guide began in France in 1900 as a free handbook for motorists complete with maps tyrechanging advice and places to eat Anonymous inspectors were introduced in 1933 while stars arrived in 1926 Even today deacutecor and service do not determine stars inspectors judge the food against five universal criteria

Indian chefs and restaurateurs highlight what a Michelin star could do for Indian food

‘Neither chef nor restaurant brings Michelin stars; the product does’
Gaggan Anand, Gaggan, SATO, Ms Maria & Mr Singh, Bangkok; RAGA, New Delhi

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Home / Sunday-mid-day / Article / Indian chefs and restaurateurs highlight what a Michelin star could do for Indian food

Indian chefs and restaurateurs highlight what a Michelin star could do for Indian food

‘Neither chef nor restaurant brings Michelin stars; the product does’ Gaggan Anand, Gaggan, SATO, Ms Maria & Mr Singh, Bangkok; RAGA, New Delhi

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

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Ganeshotsav 2026

‘Neither chef nor restaurant brings Michelin stars; the product does’
Gaggan Anand, Gaggan, SATO, Ms Maria & Mr Singh, Bangkok; RAGA, New Delhi