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Poised on the brink of a comeback with anew restaurant Lupa, chef Manu Chandra chats with Isha Mayer about it, and his journey so far

- Isha Mayer

Having interviewed chef Manu Chandra earlier, I can vouch for the fact that nothing can prepare you for his unapologetically blunt demeanour-a quality I admire and wish to possess. As I geared up for a Zoom interview with this top chef on a Monday, the familiarity excited me, but the idea of tackling his curveball responses made me equally restless. This was until I took a quick peek at the one-word description of himself on Instagram: restless. I realised we shared a common word to describe ourselves. While this resulted in an instant sense of solace, it also left me further intrigued. What could possibly make a culinary maestro like him 'restless'? After all, he's cut his teeth in a competitive industry for nearly two decades.

"It defines me," he satisfies my curiosity. "I'm someone who needs to stay occupied. I need to keep creating. I don't like resting on my laurels, and I need to keep challenging myself." And that's exactly what he's been doing ever since he stepped onto the Indian culinary scene.

ROAD TO SUCCESS

After studying at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and working with some of the best international chefs and restaurants, Chandra returned to India in 2004 and became part of the Olive group. If you thought Jeremey Allen White's Carmen-from the critically acclaimed show The Bear-was doing an impressive job as a chef in his late twenties, you'll be surprised to know that Chandra had unlocked the secret of success in his early twenties.