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Manu Chandra: The chef who’s making Indian food sexy

Apr 07, 2016 07:38 PM IST

Manu Chandra’s restaurants made fine dining fun. Now, he is looking to bring us closer to home-grown ingredients

His Twitter bio reads: chef, restaurant owner, ramen eater, insomniac, often grumpy. And most of these attributes surfaced, albeit briefly, when we met Manu Chandra (35) at his popular gastropub — Monkey Bar in Bandra. In less than a year, it has already become the go-to spot for the suburb’s hipster crowd.

It’s hardly surprising, though, as the gastropub boasts of trendy décor (naked bulbs, exposed brick walls and vintage posters) and eclectic items like cocktails in jars. However, what stands out, and has been a game changer is Chandra’s take on regional flavours presented in a modern avatar. It has resulted in dishes (versions of which are routinely seen at new openings), such as laal maas phulka presented taco-style, dal pakwan (offered in bite-sized, bar food format) and kheema bao.

So, does he think that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery? “Restaurateurs h

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What's cooking with Manu Chandra?

He adds: “A lot of private investors have reached out to me, and I am tempted occasionally. But I am not looking to do any stake dilutions right now. Is it wise from a larger valuation standpoint? Maybe not. But I want to set up a portfolio of brands first before I go look for external funding.”

The Anatomy of a Brand

Building brands is something that Chandra has been a champion of. In his previous stint with Olive, he brought to India the concept of gastropubs, marrying the existing standalone categories of a watering hole and an eatery. Monkey Bar and the Fatty Bao were considered trendsetters in the dining space. Alongside, Chandra also launched successful brands like Toast & Tonic and Cantan.

But with Lupa, he says, he is taking a step back from introducing dining styles and going back to the basics. “There is a seafood platter, I have a great pizza oven that will churn out Neapolitan pizza without having to worry about wood fire, there is a good pasta programme, a good dessert programme, there’ll be tableside action, like we’

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King Cannes: Chef Manu Chandra shines at top film festival

as a partner and the fact that the festival has been able to facilitate photography grants up to ₹10M (roughly £100,000) so far," Aquin says, speaking exclusively to Global Indian.

Born and raised in Kerala, Aquin is a globetrotter. Apart from India, he has curated several photography exhibitions in France, Australia, New Zealand and Georgia, and is currently the advisor to the Auckland Festival of Photography, in New Zealand.

[caption id="attachment_33921" align="aligncenter" width="726"] Aquin Mathews during inauguration of 'Hyderabad on Wheels' with TSRTC vice chairman and MD, VC Sajjanar[/caption]

He has also been a judge for several photography competitions including, Portrait of Humanity by the British Journal of Photography, the Print Swap by Feature Shoot Magazine, and has addressed various art and literary festivals in the last few years.

The Indian Photo Festival

Over the years, the Indian Photo Festival has successfully built an ecosystem for the Indian photographers, with a wide-ranging bouquet o