When celebrated New York chef Floyd Cardoz left Mumbai 25 years ago, he never dreamt that he’d make the journey back one day to open a restaurant. “Twenty years ago, you had to leave India to make a difference. But now people in India are realising that food is passion and they want to take it to a different level,” he says.

So the man who first won over foodies in the Big Apple as executive chef of the contemporary Indian restaurant, Tabla, and whose new venture, the ultra-chic White Street in Tribeca, has already drawn the likes of Barack Obama, is cooking up a storm back home. He’s just launched The Bombay Canteen in hometown Mumbai and he’s already created a buzz with his smart new café-bar that aims to celebrate the best of local Indian produce, techniques and flavours.

“I’ve had tremendous success in the West. But I always wanted to do a restaurant in India because the cuisine that India has to offer the world has always meant a lot to me,” says Cardoz, who won the third season of Top Chef Masters with a winning recipe of upma. 

Cardoz isn’t the only one who wants to light up the kitchen fires back home these days. Others like him are returning after spending years earning their culinary chops abroad and elevating Indian cuisine on the international stage. They’ve redefined and even created a nouvelle or Modern Indian cuisine, set up award-winning restaurants, earned celebrity chef status and won Michelin stars.

The stars heading back to home base include a host of internationally acclaimed Indian-origin chefs from twice-Michelin-starred Atul Kochhar to Gaggan Anand, whose Gaggan restaurant in Bangkok is the 17th best restaurant in the world. They’re all training their eyes on India and starting ventures here. They’re joining early mover Vineet Bhatia, the thrice-Michelin-starred chef of Rasoi fame, who came in five years ago with the ultra-luxe Ziya at The Oberoi, Mumbai.

So, by mid-2015, London-based two-time Michelin-star chef Atul Kochhar of Benares restaurant fame will give foodies back home a taste of his Modern Indian cuisine served with a contemporary British twist. Kochhar and Bhatia were the first Indian chefs to win a Michelin star each in 2001. 

Kochhar will be opening not one but two restaurants in Mumbai. The second will feature Latin American cuisine. “There is so much to do in India. I feel the timing is just right, my karma is calling me,” he says.

Before that, in April, Mumbai lad Stephen Gomes, who owns the popular Moksh restaurant in Cardiff and who has won the Best UK Indian Chef award for six of the last eight years, will launch The Mad Hatter in Juhu’s Horizon hotel. Gomes, who’s a fourth-generation chef — his father James Gomes was the celebrated executive chef of the Sun ’n’ Sand hotel — will showcase his “fun” take on Indian cuisine using molecular gastronomy and Ayurveda.

So get ready for dishes like Fog Over Borivli Forest or mushrooms with hickory smoke. “When you open the plate, you’ll find it covered in smoke. There’ll be flavours of the forest and I’ll also give ear plugs so you can hear the forest sounds. It will be a complete sensory experience,” says the funky chef.

He adds: “It’s not easy to do food in India where mothers’ food is regarded as the best. But I’m taking a big risk because of the emotional attachment. I want to go back and be known to be different.”

Meanwhile, star chef Gaggan Anand is feeding the growing fan base for his Progressive Indian cuisine using molecular gastronomy — he trained at Spanish chef Ferran Adria’s El Bulli — by doing pop-up restaurants here. Last year, he teamed up with Nachiket Shetye and Mangal Pandey’s Cellar Door Hospitality and American Express to do pop-ups in Mumbai and Delhi. His by-invitation-only Rs 12,000-a-head, 11-course dinner for three nights each was sold out. Now, he plans to do another pop-up on his own in Mumbai and Delhi this year. 

“It will be totally different. I'll do a no-reservation pop-up priced at only Rs 3,000. People will have to queue up, let’s see how long the queue is,” he says. And yes, he wants to open a restaurant too — but “only if the offer is right”.
So what’s drawing these chefs to India? Bhatia, who won his first Michelin star at Zaika in 2001 and now holds Michelin stars for his Rasoi restaurants in London and Geneva, says: “There’s always a desire to return to your roots and give something back.”

The opportunities have grown too, given the country’s changing demographics, rising eating-out culture and increased base of well-travelled Indians who are eager to experiment with food.

Bhatia, known for his out-of-the-box take on Indian cuisine, recalls the scepticism when he first opened Ziya. “People said they’ve gone mad, they are serving things like broccoli khichri and makhni sauce ice cream. But guests come here for an experience. And it has only improved each year,” he says.

So, he’s just introduced a new chocolate tasting menu at Ziya that was a hit in Rasoi in London. “I’m glad to say that I can do this in my home town now as the city is ready for it,” he says. So how about trying some cocoa potato truffles or a dark chocolate chilli chicken?

Says Cellar Door Hospitality’s Shetye: “Awareness has grown. People are now open to subtle flavours. That’s why we brought the pop-up with Gaggan.”

For promoters like Mad Hatter’s Rupin Parikh and Dharmesh Karmokar, it’s also about finding a differentiator in a competitive sector. They consciously sought out Gomes in Cardiff — and were floored by his dramatics as he infused a prawn curry over two red hot lava stones from a volcano on a New Zealand island. “I’ve been in the industry for 25 years, but Steve’s a hidden gem,” says Karmokar.   

Meanwhile, Cardoz first hired the Bombay Canteen’s co-promoter Sameer Seth — he had graduated from Cornell Hotel School with his other partner Yash Bhanage — at North End Grill in New York in 2011. “I was so impressed by him I told him, ‘You should go back to India and open a restaurant’,” says Cardoz. Later, when Seth returned home, they picked up the thread.

“Indian food’s going through a revival. Earlier, the trend was to look East and West, bring their food and Indianise it. But now people have started looking inwards to see what can be done from India,” says Seth. “We want to focus on celebrating all aspects of India at The Bombay Canteen,” he adds.

The chefs are bringing their international exposure — and also a new perspective on Indian food. And they’re not looking at simply replicating their international restaurants here.

Take Kochhar, who worked with The Oberoi before making his mark in London by marrying British ingredients with Indian spices and techniques. “I won’t open another Benares in India although there’ll be some elements of what I do in the UK,” he says. On the cards, instead, is an easy Indian restaurant like a French brasserie. It will have some signature dishes like his Karara Kekda aur Lagosta or crispy soft shell crab with peri-peri lobster cocktail.  But he’ll also create new dishes for India.

And his second restaurant in India will serve Latin American fare from Mexico, Brazil and Peru as he feels that spicy offerings will be appreciated. 

Cardoz, whose White Street is known for its globally inspired cuisine, too was clear that he wanted to “do something different in India, which would celebrate all the wonderful things that India has to offer in terms of ingredients and cooking techniques”.

He, Seth and Bhanage have pitched The Bombay Canteen as an affordable café-bar with a fun vibe. And in keeping with Cardoz’s philosophy of going local, there are dishes like Arbi Tuk with rat-tailed radish.

Meanwhile, Gomes, who began infusing Ayurveda and molecular into his food after opening Moksh in 2007, loves to add a funky element to every dish while keeping its traditional flavours. “If you order a kaali dal in Moksh, you’ll get it but you’ll also get kaali dal ki ice cream. So shampoo ke saath soap bar free,” he says. “My food is only fun.”
Naturally, this will be reflected in Mad Hatter. So, look out for his dishes like a Hyderabadi Mince Cupcake and Einstein in India.

Of course, the chefs admit India poses challenges, not the least of which is juggling their time between their home countries and here. But it’s also been a process of rediscovery for some like Cardoz. “Every time I go to India, I see something eye-opening,” he says.

Then, there are issues like sourcing ingredients, and the stiff competition too. And ultimately, admits Bhatia, despite all the Michelin stars, it’s about “acceptance”. “At the end of the day, people have to enjoy your food,” he says. But the chefs are happy to join the growing Indian restaurant pie — and to bring their own take to Indian food too.