12 Best Chefs In India To Put The Country On Globe

After Bollywood, the one thing that is at the heart of India is its food. It is filled with flavors, zest, and spice. Be it tandoori chicken, samosas, naan, Chola bhatura, or matar paneer, Indian dishes are full of regional and traditional recipes.

This cultural diversity of Indian cuisine has given some of the best chefs in India who reign the world with their flavorful wands. These renowned chefs have made Indian food more famous and widespread. Several of them have even opened Indian eateries and launched various cookbooks that have added to this popularity.

Talking about chefs a few names that pop up are common to most households. These cordon bleu cooks are some of the top-rated ones in the world and are often revered with respect and popularity. Given below is a list of famous Indian chefs that have taken over the globe with their extravagant and remarkable culinary skills.

What Are The 12 Best Chefs In India Who Put The Country On Globe (2022)?

1. Vikas Khanna

• Born in Amritsar, Vikas Khanna is one of the best chefs in India to have won the Michelin star. He is a restaurateur, a filmmaker, and a cookbook writer.
• His restaurant Junoon won Michelin stars 5 times in a row since 2011-a remarkable achievement in the field of cooking.
• He is widely known to have hosted seasons 2,3 and 4 of Masterchef India.
• His recent 5-star hotel and restaurant Kinara in Dubai was a matter of news and is known to be visited by billionaires with long waiting lists.
• One of the remarkable achievements of this famous Indian chef is that he got to serve Barack Obama, twice, where he brought into light the traditional Indian satvik food.

2. Sanjeev Kapoor

• A household name in every Indian home, Sanjeev Kapoor cordially crowns the stature of being a top chef in India.
• When it was still taboo for Indian men to step into the kitchen, Sanjeev Kapoor rose as the most celebrated food face of India.
• He hosted Khana Khazana singlehandedly for more than 17 years.
• He successfully runs a cooking channel called FoodFood, owns the cookware brand Wonderchef, also has a website full of incredible dishes and various culinary courses.
• An interesting fact related to Sanjeev Kapoor-in 2017 India entered the Guinness World Record for preparing 918kgs of khichdi in World Food India under his guidance.

3. Ranveer Brar

• Ranveer Brar One of the most famous Indian chefs, Ranveer Brar is the most well-known Indian celebrity food face.
• Not only television, but he is also a familiar digital profile. He has appeared on numerous cooking shows like The Great Indian Rasoi, Breakfast Express, Snack Attack, Health bhi taste bhi, Thank God it’s Fryday, and none other than Masterchef India.
• From working at the Taj Hotel, he rose to heights with his eateries named Morisco, il Camino and Banq.
• He also hosts various workshops leveling from amateur to pro-level cooking and his delicious recipes can be easily found on his website.
• Recently he was seen hosting Raja, Rasoi, and Anokha Andaaz where he cooks old, forgotten Indian recipes.

4. Garima Arora

• Garima Arora rose to the level of the best chefs in India by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Michelin star.
• She has shown the world the diverse face of Indian food and palates.
• In February 2019 she won Asia’s Best Female Chef title by World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
• In August 2019 she started an initiative called Food Forward India to promote the future of Indian food.
• Currently, she has opened an Indian eatery called HERE in Bangkok.

5. Pankaj Bhadouria

• India’s first and very own Masterchef-Pankaj Bhadouria is an entrepreneur, brand ambassador, TEDx speaker, and author of the first official Masterchef cookbook of India.
• Ranking high on the premium tier of top chefs in India, she has a blooming YouTube channel with 747k subscribers.
• Apart from a multi-faceted role, she is a familiar face of Indian food channels like Living Foodz and Zee Khana Khazana.
•  Her 1^st cooking show was Chef Pankaj ka Zayka which gave way to Kifayati Kitchen, 3 Course with Pankaj (Seasons 1&2), Rasoi se Pankaj Bhadouria ke Saath, Dream Kitchen, and many more.
• She also has a culinary academy which comprises various courses encompassing amateur as well as professional cooks, details of which are easily available on her website

6. Kunal Kapur

• Apart from being a celebrity face in the cooking world, a restaurateur, and an author, Kunal Kapur is a best Indian chef also known for hosting and judging Masterchef India.
• He cooked satvik food for PM Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel which was the talk of the town.
• He has won the Limca Book of Records for assembling the world’s largest chocolate tower ever.
• He has written two books A Chef in Every Home and Kunal Kapoor in the Kitchen.
• His YouTube channel brims with 4.24 million lakh genuine subscribers.

7. Tarla Dalal

• Although no more with us, Tarla Dalal is surely a household name for most of us, or if you haven’t heard about her, you ought to ask your mother or grandmother.
• She was a chef, host of cooking shows, Indian food writer, and cookbook author marking her place among the best chefs in India.
• She was awarded Padma Shree in 2007 for her benevolent and strong impression of Indian cuisine and its varied styles.
• She was chosen as the Woman of the Year by the Indian Merchant’s Chamber in 2005.
• She has written numerous books that have been translated into more than 5 languages. Her recipes can be easily found on her website www.tarladalal.com

8. Pooja Dhingra

• Let’s not forget about this famous Indian chef who masters French-style dessert making, Pooja Dhingra.
• She was a well-known name among the top pastry chefs in India.
• Pooja Dhingra was the one who opened the first macaron shop in India and introduced Indians to this delicacy.
• She was selected by the Forbes India for 30 Under 30 list for 2014 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
• She has authored this amazing book called Can’t Believe It’s Eggless to break the myth that desserts cannot be without eggs. There are various eggless recipes to suit the palate of the general Indian audience.
• She also has a YouTube channel where she shares some mouthwatering food formulae.

9. Saransh Goila

• Next on the list of best chefs in India is Saransh Goila. He is the youngest celebrity chef on Indian television.
• His show Roti, Rasta aur India is an acclaimed travelogue that is supposed to be India’s biggest travelogue.
• He founded the famous Goila Butter Chicken restaurant in Mumbai, named after his signature dish. He also took this dish on international television through the most-watched cooking show Masterchef Australia as a guest judge. He is the first Indian to do so.
• He has written the proclaimed cookbook India on My Platter-a travelogue describing the various local cuisines and delicacies of India.
• In 2014 he entered the Limca Book of Records for being the first chef to cover the longest road journey.

10. Vicky Ratnani

• Known for mingling Indian flavors with international and producing a scrumptious looking and tasting dish, next in line is Vicky Ratnani.
• He is one of the top chefs in India for his distinct yet simple and easy recipes.
• His book Vicky Goes Veg is the sire representation of how vegetarian food can also meet all the palate requirements of a foodie. He has wisely curated dishes by combining global zest with local Indian piquancy.
• He has two TV shows that go by the names Vicky Goes Veg on NDTV and Vickypedia on Living Foodz.

11. Ajay Chopra

• Ajay Chopra can be easily recognized because of his unconventional yet scrumptious recipes. That overtook the cooking world by surprise.
• He is a top chef in India who is continuously working towards making Indian recipes progressive and innovative.
• He has been a judge on Masterchef India and is also active on several cooking shows and channels.
• Although he is a successful chef and a TV host, he continues to work towards his YouTube channel that goes by his own name Ajay Chopra. His handle is filled with cooking videos and has an audience of 385k subscribers.
• He also has his own website that is packed with his recipes, consultations, and many more things.

12. Harpal Sokhi

• Who doesn’t recognize the namak shamak chef? Yes, you guessed it right. It’s the one from Turban Tadka.
• Harpal Sokhi graces the end of this list of the 12 best chefs in India and he is the aptest cooking personality to do the same.
• Apart from namak shamak, he is known for his popular food chain Punjabi Tadka.
• He has also been featured on numerous television shows like Khana Khazana, Harpal ki Rasoi, Turban Tadka, Kitchen Khiladi, and many more.
• He has taught many culinary schools and has also developed popular food menus for many airlines.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Question 1: Who was the first Indian to win a Michelin star?
Answer 1: Chef Vineet Bhatia was the first Indian to have won a Michelin star. Both his Rasoi restaurants in Chelsea, as well as Geneva, won Michelin stars in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

He is a well-established and famous Indian chef with 11 restaurants and also appears on the Netflix show The Final Table.

Question 2: What is Michelin Star?
Answer 2: Michelin star is a grade awarded to restaurants/chefs for their fundamental culinary skills and excellence.

Restaurants/chefs are graded one, two, or three stars based on their skills-one being very good, two being worthy of a detour, and three being the food that is worth the one-of-a-kind trip.

This award was introduced first time in 1926 in France. The first top chef in India to have won this is Chef Vineet Bhatia and it was Garima Arora in the female category.

Question 3: Who are the highest-paid Indian chefs?
Answer 3: Sanjeev Kapoor not only bags the spot of the best chef in India but is also the highest-earning Indian chef. He is in the 73rd position on the Forbes India list. Next to him is Ranveer Brar at the 97th rank and then it’s Vikas Khanna in the 98^th position.

Question 4: Who are the top female chefs in India?
Answer 4: 9 most famous female chefs in India are:

• Romy Gill
• Ritu Dalmia
• Bani Nanda
• Mitali Gupta
• Radhika Khandelwal
• Nita Mehta
• Shipra Khanna
• Anahita Dhondy
• Nikita Gandhi