Star chef Vineet Bhatia from London

Ambassador of Indian cuisine

Vineet Bhatia’s career begins in the mid-1980s in Mumbai and Dehli. In 1993, he moved to London. At that time, there were countless Indian restaurants there, but no authentic Indian food. In 2001, Vineet Bhatia earned his first star at his flagship restaurant Rasoi. He was the first Indian ever to be awarded a Michelin star for his cooking style. Many awards followed: Best Newcomer, The Best Indian Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Top 10 in London. Today he is one of the TOP Most influential people in London. He is considered the Father of Modern Progressive Indian Food, works magic with spices, combines Indian and European cooking elements with harmony and presents his dishes light and fresh.

Vineet Bhatia ist zum ersten Mal auf dem Rheingau Gourmet und Wein Festival dabei. An gleich drei Tagen ist er in Aktion. Hier mit Angela Berg auf der Welcome Party / © Foto: Georg Berg
Vineet Bhatia will be at the Rheingau Gourmet and Wine Festival for the first time. He will be in action on no less than three days. Here with Angela Berg at the Welcome Party / © Photo: Georg Berg

Vineet Bhatia has already arrived at the festival for the Welcome Party. Quite charmingly, the “Chef” from London offers his fine finger food personally for immediate consumption while he is still present. Chicken Chaat Basket, also translates as chicken kebab in a basket. And it is a true taste explosion that unfolds in the mouth. The crispy batter of the basket is infused with a finely marinated chicken with the key spices of India – cumin, turmeric and ginger.

Es war ein Deutscher, der Vineet Bhatia vor vielen Jahren auf die Idee brachte, sich mit seiner Heimatküche auseinanderzusetzen und hieraus seinen eigenen Kochstil zu entwickeln, verrät Sternekoch Bhatia Reporterin Angela Berg / © Foto: Georg Berg
It was a German who gave Vineet Bhatia the idea many years ago to explore his native cuisine and develop his own cooking style from it, star chef Bhatia reveals to reporter Angela Berg / © Photo: Georg Berg

In the 1980s, when Vineet Bhatia was looking for a career and his original career aspiration of becoming a “pilot” failed because of his height, he decided to go into gastronomy and he became a chef. At that time, he tells me during an interview, all chefs in India wanted to cook in the continental style. Which meant nothing more than an adaptation of nouvelle cuisine, French cuisine.

Ein „Hot Shot“ aus der Küche. Während der Kochdemonstration wird eine leichte, aber sehr geschmacksintensive Kreuzkümmel-Rote-Linsensuppe gereicht / © Foto: Georg Berg
A “hot shot” from the kitchen. During the cooking demonstration, a light but very flavorful cumin-red lentil soup is served / © Photo: Georg Berg

Vineet Bhatia meets a German in Mumbai who takes the opposite approach, ignoring European cuisine with a French twist and instead delving into Indian cuisine. This was the trigger for Bhatia to deal with Indian national cuisine on a different level. In his own country, he quickly realized, he was not getting anywhere with his project of upscale Indian cuisine. The Indian style of cooking was not appreciated enough in his own country. In 1993, he went to London and began playing with Indian flavors.

„Use salt and passion!“ Auch bei der Kochdemonstration ist Vineet Bhatia mit vollem Einsatz dabei. Sehr anschaulich erklärt er die grundlegenden Würzmechanismen der indschen Küche / © Foto: Georg Berg
“Use salt and passion!” Vineet Bhatia is also fully committed to the cooking demonstration. Very vividly, he explains the basic seasoning mechanisms of Indian cuisine / © Photo: Georg Berg.

“Cook with all your senses!”

Actually, the Italians are known for their gesture-rich explanations. Vineet Bhatia is in no way inferior and explains: “To cook, you have to use all your senses. Even your sense of hearing. If you put spices in the pan to roast them, you can hear how they break open. His appeal is “Cook clearly and without frills” By this he means concretely, never use more than 6 – 7 spices . This can be well understood in his recipe for lentil soup. It does indeed taste of red lentils, without being boring, because a balanced proportion of spices, above all cumin, ginger and turmeric provide a coherent spice chord.

Vineet Bhatia: “Food is becoming lighter and more beautiful”.

As a top chef, one’s cooking style is in a constant state of evolution. Looking back at his beginnings, Vineet Bhatia notes that food has become much lighter. Spices, yes, but the fat and overly dominant spices have been removed. Now, 12 restaurants around the world bear his name. And the same philosophy applies in all of them: fresh ingredients of high quality, no over-seasoning of the dishes, but maintaining a clear and distinct taste. And his special strength: Never panic! His wife only calls him Buddha in the kitchen. Because he remains so calm, even in hectic situations.

Michelin-Sternekoch Vineet Bhatia (l.) mit zwei Kollegen / © Foto: Georg Berg
Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia (l.) with two colleagues / © Photo: Georg Berg

The basis of good cuisine, Vineet Bhatia is convinced, is the same all over the world – you need good products and you should use as many local ingredients as possible. At the Rheingau Gourmet & Wine Festival, the star chef from London will present four courses with Indian flair for lunch. Sommelier Kai Schattner will present the wine accompaniment and introduce the vintners present. To the sun-dried tomato-cheese chicken tikka and the cumin soup, the 2014 Haardter Bürgergarten, Riesling VDP, Erste Lage trocken from the Müller-Catoir winery will be served as accompanying wines. Furthermore, a 2014 Chardonnay from the Chat Sauvage winery.

Das Hühnchen-Tikka von Vineet Bhatia ist zart und fein würzig. Es durchwandert bei der Zubereitung gleich drei verschiedenen Marinaden / © Foto: Georg Berg
The chicken tikka from Vineet Bhatia is tender and delicately spicy. It goes through three different marinades during preparation / © Photo: Georg Berg
Das Serviceteam legt los: Der Hummer, den Vineet Bhatia aus der Küche kommen lässt sieht nicht nur fantastisch aus... / © Foto: Georg Berg
The service team gets started: the lobster that Vineet Bhatia sends out of the kitchen not only looks fantastic… / © Photo: Georg Berg

The second course is a grilled lobster with curry and coconut-lime-chili sauce. Here, too, the guest may enjoy Bhatia’s finely balanced play of flavors. As a wine accompaniment, sommelier Kai Schattner provides a 2015 Traminer Rheingau Fruity Style from garage winery Anthony Hammond and 2009 Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck, Riesling Slätlese mild also Anthony Hammond.

Ein Wortspiel das zutrifft: Dieser Hummer ist der Hammer – und das ist nicht nur optisch gemeint. Auch hier spielt Bhatia die Klaviatur der indischen Gewürzaromen ganz behutsam, so dass er den Hummer noch Hummer sein lässt, aber ihn mit einer Kokosnuss-Limetten-Chili-Sauce umgießt / © Foto: Georg Berg
A pun that applies: This lobster is the hammer – and that is not only meant visually. Here, too, Bhatia plays the keyboard of Indian spice flavors very gently, allowing the lobster to still be lobster, but dousing it with a coconut-lime-chili sauce / © Photo: Georg Berg.
Hier trifft die Aussage von Vineet Bhatia zweifelsfrei zu: „Das Essen wird immer leichter und schöner“. Lamm-Kotelett mit Reis und Mungbohnen / © Foto: Georg Berg
Here, Vineet Bhatia’s statement is undoubtedly true: “Food is becoming lighter and more beautiful.” Lamb cutlet with rice and mung beans / © Photo: Georg Berg

Lamb chop with ginger and mushrooms, Indian khichdi, a mixture of rice and mung beans. Khichdi is also called the comfort food in India because it is very digestible and can also do good to an upset stomach. It is accompanied by Rogan Josh sauce, a combination of spices, onions and pepper that is served with lamb dishes in India. The wine pairing for course number three is a 2013 Pinot Noir Assmannshäuser Höllenberg from the Chat Sauvage winery.

Karamellisierter Bananen-Käsekuchen, Pista Kulfi / © Foto: Georg Berg
Caramelized banana cheesecake, Pista Kulfi / © Photo: Georg Berg

With two kinds of Beerenauslese comes Vineet Bhatia’s dessert. The Pista Kulfi, a caramelized banana cheesecake made with sweetened milk, is accompanied by a 2014 Haardter Herzog Rieslaner Beerenauslese, VDP erste Lage edelsüß from the Müller-Catoir winery. Secondly, a Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck, a Riesling Beerenauslese from the garage-winery winery, Anthony Hammond.

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Our mode of operation is characterized by self-experienced, well-researched text work and professional, vivid photography. For all stories, travel impressions and photos are created in the same place. Thus, the photos complement and support what is read and carry it further.

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