Something remarkable is simmering in India’s culinary kitchens. A new generation of chefs isn’t just cooking for acclaim — they are building something far more layered: stories, ecosystems, and entire worlds around food. In this defining era for Indian gastronomy, chefs are stepping beyond the boundaries of restaurants and reshaping the conversation around ingredients, sustainability, and cultural legacy.
Chefs like Himanshu Saini, Prateek Sadhu, Hussain Shahzad, Thomas Zacharias, and Avinash Martins aren’t merely preparing meals; they are cultivating experiences that reflect deeper intent, sharper focus, and bold conviction.
From Global Stars to Grounded Roots
Take Himanshu Saini, for instance. His Dubai-based restaurant Trèsind Studio recently earned three Michelin stars — the first for an Indian-led kitchen. It’s a historic moment that redefines how Indian cuisine is viewed on the global fine dining stage. Saini’s plates are playful and deeply nostalgic, yet technique-forward and globally precise, marking the evolution of Indian food as both personal and prestigious.
Meanwhile, Prateek Sadhu took an entirely different turn. After leading Mumbai’s popular Masque to critical acclaim, he chose to leave the city behind. His journey into the Himalayas is more than symbolic. It reflects a movement inward — towards India’s terroir, its forests and farmers, its forgotten grains and native flavours. His goal? A destination dining experience that draws people not just for the food, but for the story of the land itself.
Small Spaces, Big Impact
If the old culinary dream was a large dining room with packed tables, the new dream is more intimate. Hussain Shahzad, once the force behind the Bombay Canteen kitchen, now runs Papa’s, a limited-seating, deeply experiential restaurant that’s become one of Mumbai’s hottest tickets. It’s less about scale and more about sensorial storytelling — the kind that stays with you long after the meal ends.
His predecessor at Bombay Canteen, Thomas Zacharias, has taken yet another route. Through The Locavore, he’s working to empower regional producers, celebrate hyper-local ingredients, and build food ecosystems that are resilient and regenerative. Thomas isn’t chasing trends; he’s building frameworks — ones where what we eat is more sustainable, communal, and rooted.
The Story of Soil, Sea, and Season
In Goa, chef Avinash Martins is doing something beautifully similar but in his own language. First at Cavatina, now at Janot, Martins champions local produce and traditional cooking styles — not as an aesthetic choice, but as a culinary ethic. He draws from the land and sea, but also from memory. His dishes are less “reinvention” and more reclamation — soulful and grounded in Goan culture, yet refined for a contemporary table.
These chefs are not trying to define Indian cuisine in any singular way. Rather, they’re allowing its many micro-narratives to shine. They are not competing for the loudest voice on the global table but are deeply invested in telling stories that begin at home — often quite literally, with childhood memories, inherited techniques, or local vendors.
Redefining Success in the Indian Culinary World
What binds these culinary leaders isn’t just talent — it’s intention. Whether it’s a mountainside restaurant that demands a journey, or a 12-seat space in the heart of a bustling city, the idea is clear: great food today is about meaning, not just mastery. These chefs are inviting us to eat more consciously, more curiously, and more locally.
For years, Indian cuisine has battled global misperceptions, often boxed into curry stereotypes or overly simplified street food tropes. But the tide is turning. And it’s chefs like Saini, Sadhu, Shahzad, Zacharias, and Martins who are charting that course. Each in their own way is reclaiming the narrative, not just around Indian food, but around what it means to be an Indian chef today.
This isn’t a trend. It’s a turning point — and one that’s as hopeful as it is delicious.