MAY THE FORCE BE WITH HIM

HE WAS AT THE HELM OF THE BEST RESTAURANT IN ASIA. HE GAVE IT UP FOR MORE CREATIVE FREEDOM, AND STARTED ONE OF HIS OWN. KOLKATA-BORN CHEF & RESTAURATEUR GAGGAN ANAND HAS BEEN REDEFINING FINE DINING AT HIS NEW EPONYMOUS RESTAURANT IN BANGKOK, PANDEMIC NOTWITHSTANDING. HE SPEAKS TO SUMEET KESWANI ABOUT HIS STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS, AND FORECASTS THE NEXT CULINARY TRENDS.

- SUMEET KESWANI

It was outrageous. Implausible. It had two Michelin stars. It was No. 1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants four times in a row. Gaggan would not shut down.

Gaggan could not shut down! Yet, shut down it did, in August 2019. And anyone who actually knew Chef Gaggan Anand wasn’t surprised that he had kept his word. Except the farewells were more rushed and acrimonious than expected. Anand resigned a day before his restaurant would be ranked No. 4 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019. He left all of his accolades and tangible profits along with his micromanaging business partners, and set out on a new path. Sixty-five of his colleagues walked out with him. He endearingly calls them his fellow rebels.

Just three months later, Anand was wearing the chef’s hat again—this time inside a white structure under a veil of foliage in Sukhumvit, Bangkok. His new restaurant echoed even more of his character—and not just because it bore his last name too. Gaggan Anand (gaggananand.com) had all of the chef’s mischievous non-conformism that had made Gaggan so popular, and then some. Apart from reinventing his emoji menu and signature creations like Yogurt Explosion, Anand would send a quirky questionnaire to diners before their booking dates, inquiring about their favourite music band, cuss words, and Kama Sutra positions among other things. And there were plenty of bookings. Until the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt in March 2020.