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History is being made as Rishi Sunak takes his place as the 57th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as the first Indian and person of colour to hold that post. Although born in the UK, Sunak has never shied away from his Indian heritage and is a practising Hindu, even choosing to take his oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita when he was appointed as the Finance Minister.
His family is of Punjabi descent and they migrated to England from East Africa in the 1960s. His mixed bag of cultural influences has shaped his public life but in private, he favours a frugal diet that’s geared towards staying fit and healthy.
He follows up his morning Pelaton session with some high-protein Greek yoghurt post which he follows an intermittent fasting regime. This suits his lifestyle as he’s not a big foodie with some sources revealing to the Sunday Times that he could survive on nothing more than a granny smith apple and some cashew nuts. Although from the looks of things, he and his wife definitely like chai!
When Sunak does indulge, however, his meal of choice definitely seems to be breakfast. Weekend brunches with his family are said to be lavish affairs of waffles, pancakes, bacon and berries. He also revealed during a Twitter Q&A in 2020 that when it came to Indian breakfasts, he doesn’t gravitate towards his north Indian heritage, but prefers fare from the South.
His wife and fashion designer, Akshata Murthy grew up in Bengaluru and it seems that Sunak has also developed a love for her favourites saying, “My wife’s family are South Indian, unlike me and when we’re together my favourite breakfast is of course idli, dosa, sambhar and chutney.”
Though his culture and community are thoroughly ingrained in his political persona, it’s interesting to see the diversity of his eating habits and we wonder whether that respect for differences will carry through to his term as UK’s new Prime Minister.
