Slurrp Exclusive- Megha Kohli On Breaking Stereotypes And Innovation

Megha Kohli, one of the most energetic and promising face in the culinary circuit has been creating a charm on the plate with her innovative ideas and passion of culinary art. Being one youngest chefs of India she literally takes pride in using Indian, ingredients and style to give it a facelift and make them of gourmet level. With numerous accolades next to her name, currently as the Executive chef at Cafe Mez and Wine Company, Megha is actually changing the Mediterranean food the way is has been showcased over the years. 

How challenging as woman, it has been for you to run a kitchen mostly in a man dominated vertical. 

I think that all of us need to look at the challenges that women face at their workplace more holistically. We all keep talking about empowering women through education , which is great . But even after a woman gets her degree, she has to face challenges everyday which need to be addressed too. My main struggle was heading a team of all men at the age of 24, all elder than me and correcting them and time and again needing to prove to them that I know what I’m talking. Fighting for my increments and appraisals and demanding equal pay as other male chefs at the same post would be getting. Even vendors and suppliers don’t want to talk to female chefs . They will ignore you and talk to another male who may be far junior than you but they don’t want to talk to female chefs. I have had to work on my assertiveness and create a strong voice for myself where I have made it clear to everyone that Im the one in charge and I decide each and every course of action for the restaurant & kitchen.

Tell us how are you trying to change things for women.

Both men and women are treated equally in my kitchen, however I make sure that the women in my kitchen know that at anytime they are uncomfortable with anything in the restaurant they can come and speak to me and that I will take an action to make them comfortable.

I also try and make sure that the women get out of work on time 

How did the project TheMez happen?

Even though my dream was to open a Indian cuisine based restaurant, throughout the lockdown and the last 1.5 years I was continuously talking about how much I love Mezze, Mediterranean food and Mid-Eastern food, and how much I have enjoyed cooking it throughout my career be when I was working at Olive or Lavaash, and even at home . I started talking to family and friends about how after I open the Indian space, I would want to open a restaurant based on Mezze. I would keep thinking and talking about how versatile a Mezze spread is and how it instantly adds life to a table. As a chef my style is also extremely rustic, with big platters of food, I avoid doing pre plated food, as for me the joy of cooking is watching people sit together relishing the hearty portions of food while mixing & matching different dishes amidst peals of laughter and non stop conversations. 

So I was over the moon when one day, Ashish Sir called me up to ask me to work with him on developing a Mid-Eastern restaurant. Call it telepathy, or call it something that I subconsciously manifested...but the stars kind of aligned for this space to happen. I initially joined as a consultant but over time this project became my baby, and thanks to the love, support & encouragement that both Ashish Sir and Joy sir gave me I ended up coming on board full time as the Executive chef

What is your idea of innovation when it comes to food?

My style of cooking & plating food is rustic and soulful. I like to experiment with traditional recipes and bring a twist to the same by using a different technique or core ingredient than what people expect in that recipe. My dishes are dishes which are quite rooted and the flavours are traditional but done in a different way, I like to remind my guests of a traditional flavour but it looks totally different, yet evokes a sense of nostalgia.

What has been your learning from lockdown?

My biggest learning as a chef during the lockdown has been that you don't need a restaurant to spread the joy of food. I left my job in March 2020, and my next project got indefinitely delayed because of the pandemic. But I (like most chefs) started sharing recipes through my IGTVS, my workshops and I was blown away by the response got ! My food had reached so many homes and I established a personal connect with so many people !

Tell us something about the Instagram sessions that you started and why did you think of doing them. 

I started conducting workshops and online recipe videos because I saw how so many of my family members, cousins & friends were struggling to cook and to satisfy their food cravings in lockdown , and moreover there were so many people who had just begun to discover the joy of cooking but didn’t know which recipes to begin with , and complicated recipes would just leave them overwhelmed. I decided to start sharing recipes online through my Instagram and help people discover the sheer joy of cooking. I began with easy recipes like tomato rice or a curd chicken or marble cake , and slowly moved onto more intricate recipes like a tandoori raan , dal makhani , butter chicken , kebabs etc which I broke down and converted into super simple steps using simple ingredients that most Indians have in their kitchen . The response was phenomenal and I felt so happy when people wrote to me or shared pictures of their dishes that had come out perfectly using my recipes. 

There are barely many female chefs (though I hate this word) there in India.. What could be the reason. And how do u see this scene changing?

I think the major challenge that women who want to enter the culinary world face is lack of family support.  I have seen so many talented female chefs drop out of this industry because their family insisted that they had to be home by 6pm or that they were not allowed to work on weekends etc. I think if female chefs get more support from their family they will be able to put in more than their 100% to their profession. I always say this that I am where I am today all because of the fact that my family supported me, my profession, my erratic timings, working on weekends/festivals etc fully . Once you have entered the culinary world you have to work hard, slog day in and day out and make a place for yourself. There is just no other way. 

I now see a lot of female chefs joining this industry and it makes me extremely happy. I try to mentor and hire as many females as I can and even though they know that I always have their back , both the male and female chefs are treated equally in my kitchen

What is the smell therapy thing that you were introduced too?

I got Covid in April this year and I completely lost my taste and smell for 3 weeks. I got extremely paranoid as a chef these 2 senses are my main tools to create recipes and to sustain in this profession. I read about this smell therapy online and started practicing it at home. This is a process that involves sniffing different odours over a period of months to retrain the brain to recognise different smells. A group of international experts say smell training is cheap and simple. And unlike steroids, it is free from potential side effects. I started smelling spices, herbs , aromas of different dishes to help my senses recover faster , and I don’t know if it worked but my smell and taste both returned within a week of practicing this. I continued to practice the same everyday for 3 months after I recovered. 

Who is that one celebrity you would like to cook for and what?

I am a big SRK fan. I’m actually his biggest fan and I would love to cook 3 things for him that I know he loves - tandoori chicken, Hyderabadi khatti daal & Hyderabadi mutton biriyani . 

What’s that one food memory that makes you go nostalgic?

It would have to be my mother’s chocolate cake. It’s just a simple chocolate cake with no icing , but no one makes it like my mother . Even today if I have a bad day , when I reach home I will find that cake waiting for me at the dining table. All my childhood birthdays, special occasions and all family birthdays till now have this cake. Its literally my childhood on a plate.