Manish Mehrotra facts for kids
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| Born | 20 January 1974 Patna, India |
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| Cooking style | Indian cuisine |
| Education | Diploma in Hotel Management |
| Official website | |
| chefmanishmehrotra.com | |
Manish Mehrotra is a famous chef from India. He is known as one of the most exciting chefs in modern Indian cooking around the world. He is the Culinary Director for Indian Accent Restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai, and New York. He also works at Comorin in Gurugram. Chef Mehrotra is praised for his new and creative ways of making Indian food.
Manish Mehrotra is famous for mixing real Indian flavors with cooking styles and ingredients from Asia and the West. This makes his food very unique.
A well-known food writer, Vir Sanghvi, once said that Manish Mehrotra is the most exciting modern Indian chef in the world. He said that Chef Manish always amazes people who truly understand Indian food.
Manish started his cooking journey in Mumbai. He worked at the Thai Pavilion restaurant, part of the Taj Group of Hotels. In 2000, he joined Old World Hospitality. There, he made Oriental Octopus in Delhi a very popular place. He has worked with this company for over twenty years. During this time, he opened many restaurants and improved his cooking skills by traveling the world.
Manish travels a lot between the Indian Accent restaurants and for events globally. He loves his work and knows a lot about ingredients and the food world. He looks up to Chef Rick Stein, who makes delicious, simple recipes. Manish is a great role model for young chefs today.
He has also written a cookbook called Indian Accent Restaurant Cookbook. It has been published in different versions by Penguin Books and Hachette Books.
Manish loves reading cookbooks and owns more than 1500 of them! He has even acted in movies. He is a popular chef for TV shows, TED Talks, and cooking demonstrations.
Manish lives in New Delhi with his mother and his daughter, Adah. Adah hopes to become a chef herself one day.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Manish Mehrotra was born in Patna, Bihar, in 1974. He grew up in a family that ate only vegetarian food. They did not even use onions or garlic in their cooking.
Manish went to St. Xavier's High School, Patna, where he was the leader of the student group. After high school at New Era Public School, New Delhi, he moved to Mumbai. There, he studied Hotel Management at the Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai.
Manish chose to study hotel management on purpose. During his studies, he really started to love making food. This is when he realized that a kitchen is a very creative place, and that's exactly where he wanted to be.
Chef's Journey
After finishing college in 1996, Manish Mehrotra joined the famous Taj Group of Hotels. He trained in hotel operations. He worked at the Thai Pavilion restaurant in Mumbai under Chef Ananda Solomon. For four years, he became an expert in Pan-Asian cooking there.
In 2000, Mehrotra moved back to Delhi. He joined Old World Hospitality, which managed places at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre. He worked at Oriental Octopus, a restaurant for members only. In just six months, he became the head chef of the restaurant.
While at Oriental Octopus, Manish traveled a lot in South Asia. He visited countries like China, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. He improved his skills and learned a lot about South East Asian food.
In 2006, Mehrotra went to London. He opened a Pan Asian restaurant for Old World Hospitality, which got great reviews. He stayed in the UK for three years before coming back to India.
In 2009, Manish's career changed. He started trying new things with Indian food. This change was very successful for him. It made him a leader in 'Modern Indian Cuisine'. In March 2009, he became the first chef of Indian Accent at The Manor Hotel, New Delhi.
Indian Accent, created by Old World Hospitality, offers a new way to enjoy Indian food. The first restaurant in New Delhi opened in 2009. It quickly became famous for its fresh ideas in Indian cooking. The menu explores new ideas in Indian food while keeping its traditional roots. Chef Mehrotra takes old Indian dishes and gives them a new twist using global cooking methods.
Indian Accent in New York opened in 2016. It was praised by critics and the public. Many media outlets, like Zagat and Time Out, named it one of the best restaurants of the year.
In 2018, Mehrotra created a menu for Comorin in Gurugram. This restaurant, now part of EHV International, offers comforting dishes and unique food mixes from all over India. Comorin has won many awards and is now among Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.
Fourteen years after the Delhi restaurant, Indian Accent opened in Mumbai in 2023. It is located at NMACC. For this new place, Mehrotra made a special menu. He thought about what people in Mumbai like to eat.
Indian Accent in New Delhi has won many awards and is known worldwide. It has been on the World's 50 Best list from 2015 to 2023. It was named the San Pellegrino Best Restaurant in India on Asia's 50 Best list from 2015 to 2022. Trip Advisor has also rated it the No.1 Restaurant in India for many years. It is also listed in Time Magazine's 100 Great Destinations in the World.
Manish himself has won many awards throughout his career.
Life Outside Work
Manish Mehrotra met his wife, Vindhya, who was also a chef. They met when he was working for the Taj Group of Hotels. They got married in 1999. Sadly, Vindhya passed away in 2020.
Mehrotra now lives in New Delhi with his mother and daughter. He likes watching movies and cricket games. He also enjoys cooking for his daughter, Adah, who loves food, especially prawns.
TV Shows and Appearances
Besides being a great chef, Manish Mehrotra is also known on TV. As a child, he acted in the 1983 film ‘Doosri Dulhan’. He also had a part in the 1984 film “Apna Bhi Koi Hota”.
Mehrotra is a well-known TV personality. He won ‘Foodistan’, a cooking reality show on NDTV Good Times.
He has also been a guest on many other shows, including:
- Master Chef India Season 8 (2023)
- Master Chef India Season 7 (2022)
- Master Chef India Season 4 (2015)
- McCain Star Chef Season 1 (2022)
- McCain Star Chef Season 2 (2024)
- We The People
- The Journey of India, Discovery
- TED x NITW
- UNICEF India For Children
His Cookbook
Manish Mehrotra wrote the ‘Indian Accent Restaurant Cookbook’. It was published by Penguin Books.
The book has beautiful pictures by photographer Rohit Chawla. It was launched on January 21, 2016, at the Jaipur Literature Festival by Shobhaa De. Two versions of the book have already been printed.
In 2023, a paperback version of the cookbook was published by Hachette Books.
Manish's recipes have also appeared in many other cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.
Awards and Honors
Manish Mehrotra has received many important awards and honors, including:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies, 2023
- Hall of Fame - Food Superstars - India’s Top 30 Chefs 2023
- Culinary Icon of the year, Travel & Leisure, India 2023
- HELLO! 100 Most Influential: Manish Mehrotra, 2023
- Best Chef In India - Food Superstars - India’s Top 30 Chefs 2022
- Most Admired Chef, World Leadership Congress Awards 2022
- Fabelle Chef of The Year, Food Food Awards 2018
- Chef of the year, Eazy Diner Foodie Awards 2017
- Winner – NDTV Foodistan (India Vs Pakistan) 2012
- Chef of the year, Indian Restaurant Awards 2012
- Chef of the year, Vir Sanghvi Awards, HT City, Hindustan Times, 2012
- American Express - Best Chef Of The Year 2010
- No. 1 Chef In India - The Economic Times, 2010
Images for kids
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Chef Manish Mehrotra receiving an award.
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Chef Manish Mehrotra on a TV show.
