Atul Kochhar: Inside the mind of a MasterChef

A REGULAR JUDGE on the British and Indian versions of the famed cooking talent show MasterChef (not to mention Saturday Kitchen), a two-time Michelin starred restaurateur with lauded properties in London, Dubai and Mumbai and tonight, the arbiter of taste in the Battle of the Chefs at his Rang Mahal restaurant at the JW Marriott Marquis. There aren't too many opportunities to pick a culinary genius' brains - constantly reinventing Indian food for Londoners who notoriously love their staples is no mean feat - so we sat down with Chef Atul Kochhar in order to gain an insight into the world of modern and traditional cuisine and how Dubai compares to other food hotspots.

Where abouts do you like to eat when you're in Dubai?
I try and catch up with the chefs I know and eat out as much as I can. There are the old places like Paragon in Karama, which I absolutely adore. There's Nusr-Et. It was simple but very good. I like Coya because it came out of London and I wanted to compare them. They've done well. Jason's [Atherton] restaurant (Marina Social) is on my radar. I want to check it out and give him feedback. I'll see how rubbish he is...joking!  

What is it that you like about owning a restaurant here?
Dubai is very different. It is a very trendy place. The good thing and bad thing is that it's a very small place. You have to be so focused. I have to work a lot harder here than in London for example. It's larger and there are more tourists in the English capital, so there will always be people coming through the door. Here I have to stay very close to my product. In terms of cuisine, Dubai is a mix of London and Mumbai. Here if you don't have biryani, black daal or kebabs, you may as well close your doors. In India it's more about vegetarian food and in London it's meat. So you can see, Dubai is the crossroad. Dubai keeps me on my toes. It's harder to keep people coming back to you.

Aside from growing in size, what does Dubai need to do to go that extra step in the culinary world?
What you have to do is entice chefs to live here. That will be the turning point. Restaurants should be constantly nurtured and tinkered with. Having big names is great, but to house them here would be something fantastic.

Do you instinctively know if a restaurant will be a success?
It comes with experience. Sometimes the timing is not right, or something is just a bit off. Though, I'm a human too and sometimes it's jealousy. Sometimes I think, 'he can't be doing better than me, it's not going to work!'

Why do you think restaurant-goers have become so discerning the world over?  
It's because people travel a lot more. Even 20 years ago nobody travelled this much. If you want to eat something in New York, you can feasibly fly there just to eat with the cost of air travel being what it is. As a young chef I could never do that financially, but these young chefs can. They come back totally enriched with textures and flavours.

What can these young chefs in this competition do to impress you?
By being themselves, being real and being creative; showing the relevance in terms of where we are with food. Where we are going too. Food and fashion have to be in tandem with what's coming next and how everything will evolve.

Do you see a lot of innovation across the board when it comes to South-Asian cuisine?
Whatever South-Asian cuisine is today is through innovation. Maybe when it is represented in the rest of the world it is not so complex or creative. But that presents an opportunity to be taken to another level. There will always be traditionalists and modernists. Finding a balance is the key. When I look at it from a chef's point of view, I am a traditionalist. But if I see myself as a trader, I am a modernist. You want people to come to you. I have always been on the forefront of creativity. I have always enticed my young chefs to embrace modernism and see how we can challenge the norm.

Give us one dish where you embrace modernism?
Slow cooking, which has been there since time immemorial. Now I do a combination of slow cooking and roasting. Those are the techniques I love most. I dwell on older methods and then add new techniques. When it comes to recipes, we evolve the menu rather than change it completely every so often. Many dishes are there for years but they get tweaked. There will always be a Rogan Josh, but over a period of time I might do it with rump, or shoulder or even a whole leg in a Rogan Josh style. Even little changes can make the difference.

What professional satisfaction do you get out of the cooking competitions and shows?
Being closer to the younger generation is the trick in today's time. In five to ten years it'll be their time. To hold their hand and help them - watching them grow - it's fun. There are so many things they do differently and I learn from that. At their age, I would never think like that: the way they look at trends.
I'm a fan of MasterChef. I've supported them for a long time. I worked with the UK version many times and in India I was a guest judge. I wanted to inspire with what I do and I think we managed to get that across.

Do the rise of food intolerances and allergies give you cause for concern?
Living in London, I see it more. Dietary requirements and allergies are becoming more complex. With Indian food though it's so easy. I take great pride that we can deal with it. If somebody is intolerant to an ingredient, most dishes can be adapted or changed without much fuss.

Where are you off to next?
Back to London. I opened a restaurant called Hawkyns. It's British with an Indian twist. I gave the first year over to an experimental stage. That's coming to the end and we have a solid menu. I wanted an almost Nordic cuisine to begin with. It has changed so much because we involve the community and listen to their feedback. People want more flavours and more spices! I tease them that they're not British anymore! A typical dish is beef tartare, but one very few people would recognise. It's done with aged beef with a coriander smoked gel, sesame seed and ginger.
The Battle of the Chefs, what's going on tonight (September 20)?
MasterChef India Season 5 winner Kirti Bhoutika will be taking on the first runner-up Ashima Arora under the tutelage and mentorship of Chef Atul and Chef Amrish Sood. Hosted in the Rang Mahal by Atul Kochhar restaurant, you are invited to watch the chefs go head to head in the kitchen and sample a five-course menu from both Kirti Bhoutika and Ashima Arora, to decide who will win on the night. Priced at Dhs350 per person, you can chat with both ladies, along with Atul and Amrish, For reservations, call 04 414 3000 or email jwmmrr@marriott.com.
david@khaleejtimes.com

• Food and Dining