Meet the first ever Indian woman to bag a Michelin Star

Indian chefs are the toast of the culinary world right now. And the latest to make headlines is Garima Arora, who, at 32, has become the first-ever female Indian chef to helm a Michelin-starred restaurant. In her culinary journey so far, she has already worked with the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Gaggan Anand and René Redzepi. However, the Mumbai-born and bred Arora didn’t start out as a chef. She was initially pursuing mass media from Mumbai’s Jai Hind College, but at 21, she realised her calling, and made her way to Paris’s famous Cordon Bleu culinary school. Excerpts from an interview:

On becoming a chef

I have always [wanted] to have a restaurant of my own someday, but after six months of working as a journalist, I realised that I needed to do it then. Cooking is a young person’s game as it is very demanding — both physically and mentally. The high point is that cooking is creatively very satisfying. It is therapeutic to be doing something with my hands. The low point is that this profession is physically demanding and it takes all the time away from my loved ones.

On becoming the first ever Indian woman to bag a Michelin star

Women are finally being recognised for their contributions in various fields. Being a woman definitely has its own sets of strengths and weaknesses that you bring into a workplace. Personally, I’ve worked with some of the best chefs in the world who made it a point to make me feel welcome in the kitchen.

On no Indian restaurant getting a Michelin star so far

As far as I understand, the government has to invite the Michelin to the country to set up a guide or a rating system, just like in Thailand, where the tourism [authorities] brought them in. The goal is to encourage local industry, tourism and certain categories of restaurants. The government should realise that this industry needs to be promoted. Today, setting up a restaurant in India is next to impossible for most people. A Michelin star chef is never going to come out of our country if they never even get to start a restaurant.

On the marriage of social media and the kitchen

Social media is now an integral part of one’s dining experience. However, this has started a debate that most chefs tend to focus more on an Instagram-worthy presentation of the dish rather than taste. For me, taste comes first. Everything that we put on the plate has to make sense to the flavour of the dish. That’s my take on it. We’d never add something just for the sake of it.

Next big culinary trends!

It’s natural wine bars and ethnic cuisines, at least in Bangkok. In India, it has to be non-alcoholic juice pairings and ethnic food.

Favourite Indian chefs and advice to young upcoming female Indian chefs!

My favourite Indian chefs are Srijith Gopinathan, who runs the two Michelin-starred restaurants at the Taj Campton Place Hotel in San Francisco, and Palash Mitra of New Punjab Club. My advice to young chefs would be to keep your head down and work. And as a woman, never apologise for the choice you make in life.