Though some find their calling later in life, for many chefs the seed of professional cooking is planted early on, usually thanks to an upbringing which put food at its heart. That was the case for Ashok Kumar, who grew up in a household centred around cooking and produce. ‘I belong to a food-led family, a farming family,’ he nods. ‘I started learning about how to respect the raw material and how it takes a lot of hard work to make it. My grandmother used to make very good food for us, so it was because of that.’ With visions of his future career already forming, when he left school Ashok went to the Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management, near the Indian city of Ludhiana, to study a hotel management diploma, turning early experiences into more formal lessons.
He left at nineteen, starting his career in the world of hotels, initially as a commis chef with Taj Hotels and, later, Hilton and Crown Plaza. Five years later, now fully immersed in the rush of the professional kitchen, he moved to the UK aged twenty-four, taking up his first role at modern Indian restaurant Colony Bar and Grill in Marylebone. It was, at the time, run by Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, and though his work at Colony was the pair’s first introduction, Atul would turn out to be a significant influence in Ashok’s blossoming career. It was there, he says, that he first started to learn about the seasonality of British food, and how that could be paired with India’s authentic flavours and spices. His next move was to the Michelin-starred Benares in Mayfair (which was at the time also headed up by Atul), where he set out as sous chef before, over the next eight years, earning a position as head chef. ‘The standard was really high,’ he nods, ‘the cooking and the way it was run. I started work on the tandoor section, and it was a really good influence – I began thinking about and having influence on menus even though it was really advanced for me. It was a great learning curve.’