The Michelin-winning Indian chef nobody is talking about

Mumbai-born chef Manjunath Mural won his second Michelin star last month, making him one of the shining stars of Indian cuisine abroad. Why, then, is nobody talking about him?

By now, India should have been going gaga over the fact that an unassuming, middle-class Indian boy from the boondocks of Mumbai’s burbs, Charkop, has attained a ‘Pass Go’ card to his holy grail, not once, but twice over two consecutive years. To be bestowed a Michelin star even once in a chef’s life span on this pale blue dot in the universe can very well prompt, say, the Prime Minister of a nation to hug him and effuse, “You have made me very proud.” Pass the Padma Award, please. Yet, no one in India is gushing about the 44-year-old chef Manjunath Mural.

Chef Manjunath Mural’s mother was the only one who supported his dream of becoming a chef and persuaded his father to give in(Bob Lee)

After completing his hotel management course in Bengaluru, Manjunath started as Trainee Commis 2 (second cook) at The Resort, Madh Island (Bob Lee)

Chef Manjunath Mural got his first big break as junior sous chef at Renaissance Powai (Nic Low)

“ [Before I went abroad] chatpata is the only way I knew Indian food… It took me several months to unlearn that”

Chef Mural wants to explore cuisines from across India, as many east and west Indian dishes are still undiscovered (Bob Lee)

Chef Mural on his favourite things

Fondest Mumbai memory: Growing up helping my mother in the kitchen.

Personal comfort food: Chicken rice — Singapore food!

Drink of choice: Masala tea, or a cold beer with my culinary team after a hard day at work.

 Favourite Singapore restaurant: Loy Kee Chicken Rice at Balestier.

Favourite Mumbai restaurant: Not restaurant, but Mumbai’s street food at places like Dadar Chowpatty!

What I miss most about Mumbai/ India: The food.

What I cook for my family... Whatever they ask for as they are all very special to me. 

Favourite travel destination: I like travelling as it opens up your eyes and is a learning opportunity, and makes you a better, thinking chef. I was recently in Dubai again for the Italian Cuisine Summit, and was also at Ubud Food Festival.

 Top three celebrities I want to cook for: For chef Sanjeev Kapoor, a mentor and strong supporter and someone I admire a lot, I would cook my laksa chicken kebab, which is cooked in the tandoor.  
I would have loved to cook for the late Lee Kuan Yew, who has done so much for Singapore.
For his son, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, I’d make naan and the sambal barramundi tikka, also another dish I created for Deepavali. Of course, The Song of India’s degustation menu is a must.

What’s next? My personal goal is to share the rich heritage and diversity of Indian cuisine, and hopefully one day, people will regard it as highly as they do French cuisine. 

“I want people to think of Indian food as highly as they regard French cuisine”