Culinary Tourism Is Still Nottaken As Seriouslyas It Should

A graduate of the prestigious Cordon Bleu Culinary School, London, Chef Michael Swamys career graph covers the whole spectrum of food - from cooking to styling to writing and consultancy. Having worked with several Michelin chefs, his book The East Indian Kitchen won the Gourmand Award 2011-12. Here he gives his insights on culinary tourism and the chefs who are working hard to put India on the global culinary map.

- Steena Joy

What inspired you to become a chef?

Growing up I would watch a lot of TV shows and coming from a family background that was into film and media, I knew I wanted to work with food. It was my mum and cousin who told me to become a chef first as that would add more credibility to my profession. It was at a time when there weren’t that many chefs into television in India either.

How did the Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) experience shape your culinary skills?

LCB gave us the art of learning and mastering culinary techniques. It gave me the most solid foundation in the kitchen. We did not learn recipes, we learned how to team ingredients, flavours and textures with techniques so that we could create our own recipes. When I was at LCB, two of my professors had worked in Michelin restaurants and their skills helped me imbibe certain values and culinary traditions. The journey at LCB also got me into food media and imbibed enough confidence and habit of research in me that at the age of 27, I could write my first cookery book which is still in print to this day.

Your insights on culinary tourism?