Vineet Bhatia

Vineet Bhatia is an Indian chef, restaurateur, author, and media personality. He was the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star.[1] He opened two Rasoi restaurants, the first in Chelsea, London in 2004, and the second in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2008. Both restaurants received Michelin stars in 2006 and 2009 respectively, making Bhatia the first and only Indian chef to receive two Michelin stars.[2] Currently, he has eleven restaurants, including his signature restaurant "KAMA by Vineet" in the dining hall in Harrods in London, and appears as a judge on Netflix show The Final Table and judge-host on MasterChef India. He has written two cookbooks, Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen and My Sweet Kitchen.

Vineet Bhatia
Bhatia at his Dubai restaurant
Born9 December 1967 (1967-12-09) (age 53)
Mumbai, India
EducationThe Oberoi School of Hotel Management
Spouse(s)Rashima Bhatia
Children2
Culinary career
Cooking styleModern Indian
Websitevineetbhatia.com

Early life

Born in 1967, Vineet Bhatia grew up in Mumbai. He had early ambitions of becoming a pilot since a young age, growing up with daily sounds of planes flying into the nearby Juhu Airport. At the age of 17, having passed the National Defence Exam to join the Air Force he failed to do the same with the required physical test. After this failure Bhatia turned to cooking, inspired by his mother's passion for it.[3]

Career

Bhatia was recruited as a trainee to the Oberoi School of Hotel Management, New Delhi in 1988 where he trained until 1990. He went on to work as Chef de Cuisine at The Oberoi from 1990 to 1993.

He moved to London in 1993, taking on the position of Executive Chef at Star of India, South Kensington. Restaurant critic Fay Maschler of the Evening Standard wrote of him at the time, “Bhatia has lifted the cooking into a new league; providing convincing proof that Indian food is capable of evolving”.[4]

In 1998 he and Iqbal Wahhab opened Cinnamon Club, before heading up the kitchen at "Vineet Bhatia" in Hammersmith the following year. AA Gill wrote: "It's shaming to point out, but if Bhatia cooked in the French or Italian vernacular, or came from New York, he would be hailed as a superchef".[5]

Bhatia went on to establish Zaika in 1999, and in 2001 became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin Star and that too in London. He spent a further three years at Zaika before going on his own in 2004 at Rasoi in Chelsea. Critics expected the restaurant to earn a Michelin star soon after opening,[6] and in 2006 it was awarded the second Michelin Star received by Bhatia. Shortly after, he opened Rasoi by Vineet in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2009 the restaurant received a Michelin Star, making Bhatia the only Indian 2-star Michelin chef, and one of the few British chefs to have Michelin Stars in more than one country.[7][2]

He opened his restaurant Saffron Lounge in Doha, Qatar, in 2012, alongside his established restaurant in Dubai, Indego.[8] In 2015 he opened his first restaurant in Saudi Arabia, "Maharaja by Vineet" in the Mövenpick Hotel Al Khobar, Riyadh.[9] After two years of operation, Maharaja was awarded the best Indian restaurant at the Food & Travel Arabia awards.[10]

In late 2016, Bhatia re-modelled his original restaurant Rasoi in Chelsea, launching Vineet Bhatia London, or VBL for short. Bhatia's plan for VBL was to offer only a multi-course tasting menu. In October 2017, it was awarded a Michelin Star. However, following a disagreement with his partners at VBL, Bhatia decided to close the restaurant and re-focus his efforts elsewhere.[11]

In 2019, KAMA by Vineet, in London, opened in the newly refurbished dining hall at Harrods, making him the only Michelin starred chef at the London department store.[12]

In the same year, it was also announced that Bhatia would be joining the 6th edition of MasterChef India as Judge Host.

Restaurants
Restaurant Location Years Rating
Star of India London, United Kingdom 1993 - 1998
Zaika London, United Kingdom 1999 - 2004 1 Michelin star
Safran Belle Mare, Mauritius 2002 - 2006
Tantra Los Angeles, United States of America 2002 - 2007
Rasoi London, United Kingdom 2004 - 2016 1 Michelin star
Indego Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2006 - Present
Indus Moscow, Russia 2006 - 2010
Urban Turban London, United Kingdom 2008 - 2010
Maharaja Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia 2008 - Present
Rasoi Geneva, Switzerland 2008 - Present 1 Michelin star
B.I.R.D Leeds, United Kingdom 2008 - 2013
Saffron Lounge Doha, Qatar 2009 - 2018
Ziya Mumbai, India 2010 - Present
Amari Belle Mare, Mauritius 2014 - Present
Maharaja East Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2015 - Present
Rasoi Manama, Bahrain 2015 - Present
Vineet Bhatia London London, United Kingdom 2016 - 2018 1 Michelin star
Indego 360 Doha, Qatar 2018 - Present
Rasoi Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2019 - Present
Indya Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2019 - Present
KAMA London, United Kingdom 2019 - Present


Books

Bhatia has written two cookbooks:

  • Rasoi : New Indian Kitchen, 2009, ISBN 978-1906650193
  • My Sweet Kitchen, 2016, ISBN 978-0995543102

References
  1. Fuhrmeister, Chris (November 20, 2018). "Empire-Building Chef Vineet Bhatia Is the Indian Cuisine Expert on 'The Final Table'". Eater.
  2. "Vineet Bhatia wins second Michelin star". The Caterer. November 18, 2009.
  3. "Empire-Building Chef Vineet Bhatia Is the Indian Cuisine Expert on 'The Final Table'".
  4. "Vineet Bhatia and his Indian food revolution". Tried & Supplied. May 28, 2017.
  5. "The Raj lives on in our restaurants". The Independent. March 25, 1999.
  6. "Stars in their eyes". the Guardian. January 26, 2005.
  7. "The Seven Sins of Vineet Bhatia - Chef Patron, Rasoi". www.thecriticsguide.com.
  8. "Saffron Lounge by Vineet Bhatia".
  9. "Maharaja by Vineet presents a fascinating business lunch". Arab News. January 25, 2015.
  10. "StackPath". www.bahrainthisweek.com.
  11. "London Diary: Two great Indian chefs bounce back with terrific new restaurants after falling out with their partners". Hindustan Times. October 2, 2019.
  12. O’Loughlin, Marina. "Restaurant review: Marina O'Loughlin on Kama by Vineet, Harrods, London" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
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