Chef Cyrus Todiwala

From Executive Chef of the Taj Group of Hotels, to now a proud propagator of contemporary Parsee and Indian cuisine in the UK, he has three restaurants to his name – Café Spice Namasté, Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen and The Park Café. He has also earned two titles bestowed by the Queen of England – a Member of the British Empire and an Order of the British Empire! HELLO! gets talking to a multi-dimensional man who has authored bestselling cookbooks, is an educationist and was cited BBC’s ‘Food Personality of the Year’

- Sangeeta Wadhwani

Tell us about how you found the courage to quit a prestigious position like Executive Chef of the Taj Group of Hotels to launch a new venture in London?

“That was one of the hardest decisions of my life. I did struggle a lot before heading out to Pune to run a restaurant with a friend. Leaving a comfortable job in a senior position is not easy, but I could see little growth where I was, despite my best output. “My weapon was my life partner – Pervin. She was a big motivator and supporter. Eventually, we left Pune to head out to Australia. Having a residency visa in our hands, it was another journey into the unknown. I had no intention of going to Australia, but she wanted to give our children a better life, perhaps. However, a former Taj colleague beckoned me towards London to help him run another person’s restaurant. So, initially, we just went to Australia to keep our options open and then, we moved to the UK. We came lock, stock and barrel with two small kids, not knowing what would be in store. But, we took the plunge and here we are 27 years later, with four restaurants to our name. Two with ownership within and two under other agreements!”

You were honoured with both an MBE and an OBE by the Queen, and you served a famous dish called ‘Country Captain’ for her Diamond Jubilee Tour...what is this dish about? How was the experience cooking for the royals?