He had two Michelin stars. He ran the 4th best restaurant in the world. He was the hottest ticket on the Asian restaurant circuit - voted Best Restaurant in Asia four times. Yet, he willingly threw it all away and turned his back on his eponymous restaurant to start over. This is the story of how Covid-19 and personal deroute changed the life and character of the rock star chef phenom, Gaggan Anand, and made him envision a radical future for his fine dining concept.
Over the years, Gaggan Anand - a major catalyst of Modern Indian cuisine - has been called anything from artist to provocateur, and even a disgrace to his Indian roots. He is unorthodox, opinionated and loud, there is nothing quite ordinary about Gaggan Anand.
Known for his theatrical rock star approach to cooking and little regard for tradition, Gaggan has always put himself and his food center stage in ways his critics have called self-centered and arrogant. Yet, talking to Gaggan in 2022, it is as if something has changed. He seems calmer and more in balance. Less of a rock star and more of a human being. And he does nothing to cover the fact that the hardships of the last few years have changed his character immensely.
I became a positive person. I became healthier and I became much more about the artist in me rather than the business in me.
This, too, shall pass
When Covid-19 entered the world stage in early 2020, it was a devastating blow to the entire restaurant business. But for Gaggan Anand, Covid-19 also became a saving grace. “Covid was bad on me and Covid has changed me,” he says bluntly. On top of being pulled through the maelstrom of a global pandemic, Gaggan spent two years battling deeply personal issues while going through a bitter feud with business partners about the rights to his crowning achievement, his namesake restaurant, Gaggan. A feud that eventually led to Gaggan handing in his letter of resignation and leaving his life’s work to start again with a restaurant of his own.
“All these things got to me and they made me bitter,” he confesses. “Yet, I moved on, time passed and I met a girl I really liked. She changed my life completely. Made me feel worthy and at ease. I became a positive person. I became healthier and I became much more about the artist in me rather than the business in me.”
“I am not that grumpy, frustrated ambitious guy anymore,” he continues. “There is a painful side-effect to fame. And it consumed me. Fame is a cancer. I lost touch with all things human. I was just a machine. A prostitute. My quest to become famous and feed people was sucking the life out of me. And I realized this had to change.”
Still a rebel, but a rebel on another level
“All this bad energy, all these bad people around me,” he continues, “I got rid of them and focused on what was real. Covid changed me as a person. It made me more approachable. It changed my cooking and made me give up fame. I have given up the idea that people come to a restaurant because it is famous. I will now run my restaurants for the happiness of the people.
To the once so provocative Gaggan, being a rebel in the restaurant business no longer only revolves around simply breaking rules, producing avant-garde dishes and flashing a rock star image. It revolves around changing the way the business is run and the way it is seen. “I want a restaurant to succeed,” he says, “not because of fame or investors, but because of heart and the team behind it.”
I want a restaurant to succeed, not because of fame or investors, but because of heart and the team behind it.
“A true leader,” he argues, “is someone who creates an environment in which every employee feels that this is their restaurant or their kitchen. Where they own everything they cook or serve - and work as a team. I follow my heart and I follow my team,” he stresses thoughtfully. “My team corrects my mistakes and makes me look better. A good leader is followed by people who believe in that person.”
This ongoing quest for personal happiness and his caring character may be lesser known sides to the famous chef. They may well have been overshadowed by his larger than life persona, but they are factors that help paint a more nuanced picture of Gaggan as a chef who may have been full of himself, but certainly also full of compassion for others. A fact that, to his credit, was proven when Gaggan left his namesake restaurant in 2020 and 45 out of 65 staff members left with him. Out of loyalty and love, he says.
The industry is changing - how to sustain talent
Softer and more thoughtful as he may seem, certain things about Gaggan’s character certainly remain the same. Including his trademark honesty and direct way of saying things. Nowhere does this become more apparent than when the talk turns from personal development to the greatest buzzword of the 21st century: sustainability.
“Everybody can use the word ‘sustainable’ and make it what they want.” he sighs, “I think we still do not fully understand what sustainability means! To me, sustainability is a process in the kitchen. It is less about changing habits and more about using ethical products to their fullest. To me, luxury was always supposed to be sustainable. The problem is,” he argues, spitting out every word of the sentence, “Everybody. Wants. To. Eat. Fine. Dining! Everybody wants to eat truffle and caviar. As a result, these products have become unsustainable. Everything can be sustainable, it is human greed that makes things unsustainable,” he broods.
Everything can be sustainable, it is human greed that makes things unsustainable.
“I believe living sustainably involves more than eating products of the season and knowing where to get them,” he says, revealing that to him sustainability is about much more than just conscious choices and processes. It is about the business as a whole. ”If you have 30 people working for you, they have 30 families, and you need to sustain them,” he explains. “The biggest problem in this industry right now is that we are losing talent. You have people who have worked as chefs for 15 years saying damn it, I don’t want to be a chef anymore.”
“I don’t want to work long hours, I am not getting paid enough,” he imitates. “I will go cook fried chicken instead. Work four days a week, then sit at home for three days watching Netflix,” he adds with a laugh. ”And make the same amount of money! Listen, what is most important is to sustain talent. We should protect talent. We should see the Food & Beverage sector as a talent, not as a business,” he says forcefully.
Gaggan’s Rock ‘n’ Roll world tour
His words are strong and heartfelt, and at no point in time have they seemed more important than right now. Since 2020, a faceless enemy called Covid-19 has changed the industry and the lives of so many people in it. Gaggan realizes this, too, yet unlike so many of his peers who see Covid-19 as a threat or a downside, he puts a much more positive spin on the situation.
If the world is changing, Gaggan thought to himself one day in late 2021, we need to be thankful for what we have got, embrace changes and move with them if we want our business and talents to survive. “You cannot beat the disease, but you can beat it mentally,“ he says firmly, and allows his sentence to resonate as he falls silent for a moment. It is clear that the winds of change are blowing in the industry he loves, and that he is more than ready for a radical change.
We should see the Food & Beverage sector as a talent, not as a business.
“I took some time to converse with myself during lockdown,” he finally resumes, “and this is what I came up with: If you confine yourself to one space, one city; the city consumes you. Moreover, the virus has severely crippled gastro tourism and I really want to share my cooking with the world. I scratched all my other ideas. And here is what I came up with: I want to take Gaggan all over the world on a sort of rock ‘n’ roll world tour,” he yells full of energy. “Covid-19 is not over. We’re not even half-way through, I think. So this is a great new opportunity!”
“Myself and my crew will no longer be confined to a certain city,” he grins ecstatically. “Gaggan will become a pop-up restaurant. Like a rock ‘n’ roll band, we will tour the globe from city to city. We will reveal in advance on social media where we will be going, and we will sell tickets via a website. I love this idea,” he grins ecstatically. “I believe this will be my future,” he continues, full of his trademark passion and heart.
And like the rock bands of the past that inspired him, Gaggan Anand could not care less about awards or industry recognition. “It is about cooking and it is about having fun. Not fortune, fame and stars. If a certain guide recognizes a pop-up adventure,” he says, “that’s fine. If not, so be it. I’ve always gone my own ways,” the reborn chef ends with a huge laugh.
Where to next, Gaggan?
Gaggan Anand’s world tour kicked off on April 6th 2022 at the Mandala Club in Singapore with what Gaggan calls a celebration of his greatest hits and worst emojis and so far, the tour has also included a one night only roof-top takeover at E.P & L.P. in Los Angeles on March 20th. For now, Gaggan has vowed to continue his Greatest Hits residency at Mandala Club until June 30th, after which he promises to deliver a new and much more intimate dining experience.
Exactly where this intimate experience will take place and what surprises it will bring, no one knows quite yet. Only time and social media will tell. As is so often the case with the phenom, some things about his future endeavors are left completely to chance and surprise.
