Atul Kochhar

Kochhar was born in Jamshedpur, India, and began his cooking career at The Oberoi Group of hotels in India (1989–1994). He gained his diploma in Hotel Management from The Institute of Hotel Management Chennai. In June 1993 Kochhar graduated to the five star deluxe Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi. Here he worked as a sous chef in one of the five restaurants in the hotel supervising a staff of 18 and immediately raising the standards in the kitchen. In 1994 Kochhar moved to London to continue his cooking career at Tamarind in Mayfair and in January 2001 at the age of 31, Kochhar was the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star, a milestone widely regarded as a turning point in the recognition of Indian cuisine at fine-dining level. ==Restaurants ==

Atul Kochhar has been involved in the opening, operation and development of numerous restaurants in the United Kingdom and internationally. In 2018, Kochhar faced public backlash after posting an Islamophobic tweet which he later apologised for and stated that his comments were "insensitive and wrong". His tweets were in response to Bollywood actress, Priyanka Chopra's role in the action series Quantico, following an episode which featured a terrorist plot devised by a group of Hindu nationalists. As a result of this, the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai terminated its partnership with him for the operation of their Rang Mahal restaurant, citing a misalignment with the hotel’s values of diversity and inclusion. Later that year, Kochhar also departed from his Michelin‑starred flagship restaurant, Benares in Mayfair after a 15-year tenure. This change was a huge shock for one of the best restaurants in London and Benares lost it's Michelin Star just a few months after Kochhar's departure. He has gone on to open several other restaurants alongside Kanishka since his departure from Benares including Masalchi in Wembley Park, Vaasu in Marlow, Riwaz in Beaconsfield and Essence in Royal Tunbridge Wells. These new openings as well as with his two older restaurants: Sindhu in Marlow and Indian Essence in Petts Wood have taken Kochhar's current portfolio to 7 restaurants in the United Kingdom. ==Media==

Kochhar has been featured on BBC2's television series Million Pound Menu. He previously presented a series called Curry on with Atul Kochhar on the B4U network and a series on Malaysia called Kochhar's Spice Kitchen. Kochhar appeared in Masterchef Goes Large, season two and BBC2's Great British Menu in a bid to create a menu in honour of the Queen's 80th Birthday. He also appeared in Market Kitchen and Saturday Kitchen series 1–3. == Personal life ==

Kochhar lives in West London and is married to his wife Deepti. Together they have a son called Arjun and a daughter called Amisha. ==Publications==

• Fish, Indian Style (2008), Absolute, • ''Atul's Curries of the World'' (2013), Absolute, • Benares: Michelin Starred Cooking (2015), Absolute, • Simple Indian (2016), Quadrille, • 30 Minute Curries (2017), Absolute Press, • Curry Everyday (2022), Absolute Press, ==References==