Hailing from food-loving family but with no familial culinary background, Chef Ajay Chopra has always looked at the kitchen with awe. Even before he completed his formal education in culinary arts from Oberoi School of Learning and Development, he picked up skills wherever he went. The dhabas of Alwar hold a sweet spot in his heart where he was drawn towards the art of tossing and flipping pans and mimicked the same back home. Be it the street vendors or the top-notch chefs of the country, Chef Ajay Chopra left no stone unturned to grasp the vast pool of knowledge and skills that were essential to succeed in the kitchen.
While he still laughs thinking about the time his family thought that he would become a bawarchi, he has decided to move on from being a celebrity chef to a visionary. Kickstarting his entrepreneurial journey in partnership with Chef Hemant Oberoi, Knosh is his special child and we’re hoping it’s not just his first. Giving us an insight into his vision, ideas, concept and the way forward, Chef Ajay Chopra chats with us for an interactive session. Excerpts:
Q1. How do you understand the term gourmet food?
Gourmet food is any food of high quality, crafted to deliver exquisite taste and presented in a pleasing fashion. Ingredients that are rare or hard to cultivate in a continent are thus considered gourmet.
Q2. Your stint in Master Chef India made you a popular household name. How would you describe your transformation to a celebrity chef?
I realized that we will be judging one of the biggest cooking shows in the world that was going to change the way our country looked at food. Thanks to Master Chef India, I began to understand regional cuisines and a variety of dishes that corners of our country have to offer. There is so much talent residing in humble homes. Overall, it was quite an overwhelming experience.
Q3. You’ve recently launched your new venture Knosh. How did you land up with the idea and what’s your vision?
Good food is not only limited to a fine-dining restaurants, and post-Covid, with the rise in the trend of dining at home, we thought of a concept of delivering gourmet food and magical food experiences at great value. Knosh is a food-tech platform which home delivers signature dishes from award-winning chefs. Chef Hemant Oberoi is the mentor for Knosh while I will don brand ambassador’s hat for the platform, along with my chef’s cap. Knosh is India's first unique epicurean platform that brings together award-winning chefs of international repute on a single platform. Food connoisseurs can now indulge in culinary delights from handpicked chefs, in the comfort and safety of their homes. We are beginning with serving Gurugram and plan to go pan-India in the coming months with a vision to spread across Asia.
Q4. Is there any special significance behind that name?
Knosh is created to deliver artisan eating experience at the comfort of your home at regular price. Knosh simply means food and that’s what we are all about. Haven’t you heard of the phrase, “Nosh farmaiye”? Our idea of the term Knosh comes takes the essence of this Urdu phrase to welcome people to try our curated recipes.
Q5. With another feather to your cap, do you relate more to being a chef or an entrepreneur?
Well, cooking good food is the common thing in all these avatars. That’s what keeps me going. Whatever I am, I am because of the food I cook.
Q6. From working at TGI Friday’s to Westin and various bespoke restaurant chains, what are the challenges you think still exist in the gourmet food sector?
Our industry in India is still not organized. It needs a facelift. The customer is still learning and sometimes, fulfilling every demand becomes difficult for restaurant owners. That is one reason why restaurants don’t end up offering consistent food many a times.
Q7. Do you follow any food trends? Are there any which you wish had never happened?
Food is like fashion. Some trends fade with time, some are classic. Fusion cuisine, I think shouldn't have happened, because I feel a dish loses its soul when you try and do fusion.
Q8. We tried your signature dish, Gongura stuffed paneer from the tasting menu at Knosh. Would love it if you could share a recipe for our readers.
Gongura-stuffed paneer tikka is again a result of brainstorming of ideas (I call it table tennis of ideas). It's a simple dish. Paneer tikka is slit and stuffed with Andhra Pradesh-style Gongura pickle and marinated with a yoghurt base marination of yellow chilly powder, kasoori methi, black salt and cold press mustard oil. It is char-grilled and served with quick Andhra-style tomato chutney.
Q9. We’re wondering if the kitchen was always your calling or was there a Plan A too?
My parents wanted me to be an engineer or a doctor but I loved kitchen and food even when I was a young boy. As a young kid, I even enjoyed small activities in the kitchen like reheating lunch for my siblings. At a young age, my love for food and cooking led me to learn new things from the street vendors and I didn't even realise that I was gaining skills to be a chef, one step at a time.
Q10. You’ve seen it all- from Delhi to Mumbai. So do you have a soft corner for a particular cuisine that you’ll be serving at the new food platform?
Both cities have come a long way when it comes to food and are top culinary destinations, with world-class restaurants. Globally also, both the cities are being seen as gastronomes destinations. What I like about Mumbai is food on the go, fresh seafood, coastal cuisine, food from the local communities and the new innovative restaurants. Delhi offers food filled with childhood memories, of eating tikki from a cart or relishing Tibetan food at Majnu ka Tilla. You can always relive nostalgia in Delhi through its food. To be honest,my personal favourite is Delhi ka khana which is quite reflective in my North Indian delicacies at Knosh’s menu too.
Q11. Who has been the inspiration behind your culinary journey?
In my journey, my mentor Chef Gulshan, Chef Barnidharan, Chef Elton Hurtis, Chef Vinay Jayraj and Chef Girish Krishnan have helped me a lot for who I am today.
Q12. After conquering most mediums, are there any plans to author a cookbook anytime soon?
During the lockdown, I have actually written a recipe book for someone who has just started cooking. The book is in post production and will soon be launched.