The UK’s love affair with Indian food is well-documented – no other country outside of India has the same number of Indian restaurants in its high streets. There are the takeaways and curry houses many of us grew up, serving an Anglicised menu many would argue is a cuisine in itself; then you have the high-end, Michelin-starred establishments that show how Indian flavours can be used to create some of the most beautiful, refined dishes in the country. Will Bowlby’s trio of Kricket restaurants in London sit somewhere in the middle, offering playful, interesting and modern Indian food without the trappings (and costs) of Indian fine dining.

Will became interested in food when he was around ten years old (‘I think it was Jamie Oliver that got me going’), and by the time he was sixteen he’d set up a one-man catering company that paid his way through university and some travelling. As soon as he’d finished his studies, he asked legendary chef Rowley Leigh how to break into the industry. Rowley offered him a job in the kitchen of his restaurant Le Café Anglais.

‘I was thrown in the deep end on the vegetable section, which was massive,’ says Will. ‘It was really tough, but I kept my head down and over the next two years worked my way through every section there. It really taught me all the basics and I learned as much as I could about classical techniques and ideas.’

Will left Le Café Anglais with a plan to work in a different style of restaurant to further his knowledge, but when he was offered a head chef position working at a European restaurant in India, he decided to go for it. ‘I was only twenty-four and almost definitely not experienced enough, but I went for it anyway and moved to Mumbai. It was an intense two years – Mumbai is a difficult place to live in many respects – but it was also really exciting and unlike anything I’d done before. The idea of a European restaurant is incredibly vague in India; I suppose it’s more like a continental restaurant than anything. But while I was there it was the exposure to regional Indian cuisine that caught my attention.’

As his interest in Indian food grew, Will began travelling around the country as much as possible. ‘The sheer variety of food on offer is just incredible,’ he says. ‘The history behind it all is really interesting too – different regions have been influenced by everything from Portuguese colonisers to Middle Eastern invaders. It’s different wherever you go. I particularly love southern Indian food – Kerala is great for light, coastal seafood, but then you head east and the spices are used completely differently. The most interesting food I’ve had was in Lucknow, in the north, as it’s so rich, influenced by the Mughals from hundreds of years ago. You also can’t ignore the street food in Old Delhi, which is not particularly healthy but it’s incredibly delicious.’