First Indian 'celebrity chef' restaurant opens in Dubai

2nd Aug 2010

Atul Kochhar is already known for modernising Indian cuisine for European palates, he now hopes to do the same for Arabia in both taste and accessibility.

Last Saturday saw the opening of Zafran, the first Indian 'celebrity chef' restaurant in Dubai, and Mr Kochhar said he hoped that his experimentation with menus would "become universal and everyone can eat Indian. There is spice inclusion. We can’t change the tradition, but authenticity can be played with".

Speaking about cooking in the UAE he said. "The food scene is exciting here. There is a lot happening. The region has grasped food in a big way. One of the attractions is the melange of people and cultures."

While most top restaurants in the UAE are in hotels, Zafran is located in a shopping centre. Gaurav Tandon, a food critic and host of Set TV Asia's 'Eating Out', said the approach made haute cuisine more approachable. "For the first time, a Michelin-starred chef’s outlet is in a mall, this shows this is not just for the rich. It has come to the masses. Earlier, you had to think 10 times before you went to one. Now, you can watch a movie and then eat at such a place. This is achievable only in a place like Dubai."