Himanshu Saini – a young Delhi boy, Chef Himanshu learnt the nuances of cooking at a very young age from his mother, post which he joined Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology to hone his culinary skills. With the aim to make his mark with constant innovation and to change the perception of Indian cuisine, Chef Himanshu embarked on a journey to create innovative dishes, thereby elevating how we experience Indian food today.
Surjan Singh, fondly known as Chef Jolly, is a celebrated Indian chef who has been a Chef Judge for Master Chef India, a TV Chef Anchor, Culinary consultant, with over three decades in the hospitality industry. He has also been nominated to join the prestigious International Taste Institute of Brussels as a Chef Juror.
Chef Jolly loves to travel & has been on endless expeditions to explore the nuances of authentic and traditional cuisines. He has also had personal tutorials from the nobility and royal court kitchens.
Chef Jolly has worked with some of the finest properties across the world & has been in charge of elite events from A-list parties to celebrity weddings.
Suresh Pillai, commonly known as Chef Pillai, is an Indian-born British chef and restaurateur. He worked as chef de partie, sous-chef, and chef de cuisine at various restaurants in London for 14 years, including Veeraswamy and Gymkhana. He holds British citizenship. In 2017, he contested in the British reality TV show MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC Two. He returned to India to become the corporate chef and culinary director of The Raviz. He also started his own restaurant chain branded Restaurant Chef Pillai.
Chef Chalapathi Rao fondly known in the culinary world as Chef Challu, is now renowned globally for his culinary skills and his exceptionally high personal standards. He is constantly reinventing his age-old recipes to provide evolved culinary experience to the restaurant’s patrons. With a long and successful tenure of over 15 years with ITC Hotels, he was the Chief Custodian for “Dakshin” pan India. Recently he donned the hat of the eminent judge of first ever Master Chef India – Telugu.
Executive chef Anurudh Khanna has over 22 years of experience working in hotels such as Hyatt Regency, The Taj Mahal hotel New Delhi, The Park New Delhi, The Westin Pune and Shangri-La Bangalore. Currently he is handling the role of multi property executive chef for The Westin Gurgaon and The Westin Sohna. With a unique blend of creative flair and a passion for food, strong business sense and engaging interpersonal skills, he has a strong record of streamlining operations and improving service while preserving the highest levels of quality.
With two decades of professional culinary experience, chef Surbhi Sahni (@chefsurbhi) brings home cooking traditions to modern Indian cuisine and confections. Before launching TAGMO (@tagmonyc / tagmonyc.com), Sahni served as the creative force behind Michelin-starred New York City restaurants, Devi and Tulsi, and Saar Bistro in Midtown. he also served as the creative director and events director at Hemant Mathur Catering.
Chef Manjunath Mural is the first Indian Executive chef to score a Michelin star for an Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia.
As Executive Chef of Song of India, a modern Indian restaurant that features regional flavours across India, he was recognised for his decades of hard work in 2016 when the restaurant was awarded one Michelin star in Singapore. In 2017, he once again led his team at The Song of India to garner a Michelin star – still the only Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia to have the honour.
Sanjay Thumma popularly known as Vah-Chef, is an Indian celebrity chef, entrepreneur, restaurateur and television personality. He is the founder of the cooking website, vahrehvah.com. He is especially popular among the Indie-expatriate communities in mainland India. He became known for his online recipe channel on YouTube, which he started in 2007, with over 750 million views. He is one of the three judges in the first season of MasterChef India – Telugu.
Hari Nayak is more than a chef, today he is a restaurateur, author as well as a culinary consultant based in New York City. Hari Nayak started his epicurean journey from the Culinary Institute of America and today, he is one of the most sought after Indian chefs for his unique style. After working in India then traveling to the culinary institute, he went on to work in restaurants in the New York metro area. Though Chef Hari is one of the world’s most famous Indian chefs today, his skills extend far beyond the kitchen. A savvy restaurateur, Hari Nayak is responsible for the operation and success of several restaurants worldwide.
Amninder Sandhu is no ordinary chef. “The girl with gold in her fingers” (that’s what legendary chef Marco Pierre White called her) continues to push boundaries of regional Indian food with her unquenchable curiosity and a profound interest in reviving lost recipes. After creating the first gas-free kitchen in the country at Mumbai’s Arth, Sandhu went on to conquer international platforms with The Final Table, a Netflix series, breached new frontiers with a comfort Indian delivery brand Ammu and even launched a terrace bar and kitchen in Pune named Nora. At her newest restaurant Bawri in Goa, Sandhu creates beautiful yet simplistic dishes squeezing every ounce of flavour from carefully selected ingredients.