Chef Hemant Oberoi

After Partition, his family moved to Ferozepur in Punjab, where he was born on February 6, 1954. His mother, Shanti Oberoi, was a housewife and his father, Prakash Chander Oberoi, a station superintendent. Married wife Mallika in 1979. Two sons, Siddharth and Saransh. Career : Joined Taj Bombay in 1974. After returning to India in 1986 from Muscat, took over as the executive chef of the Taj Bombay. The Masala chain of restaurants in the Taj Group ladles out innovative Indian food. Masala, a contemporary signature brand, in the Group, opened the Masala Art at Taj Delhi two years ago, followed by Masala Kraft over a year ago at the Taj Mumbai and Masala Bay at the Land’s End in Bandstand. This is the culmination of chef Hemant Oberoi’s eight-year-old dream of a new way of representing north Indian food. Part of this concept is Varq, Delhi’s newest fine dining Indian restaurant, opened August 1 2008 at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Oberoi travelled across Punjab — Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ambala and Chandigarh — to retrace and revive old cuisines for Masala Kraft. "Tandoori chicken and sheesh kebabs are not on the menu. We wanted to break the myth that Indian food is heavy and oily," informs Mr Oberoi. "In fact, the open kitchens in the restaurants provoke guests to regulate oil and spice levels in the food on request." Extremely capable and inventive, Hemant Oberoi accounts for the successes of Taj Mahal Hotel's myriad exciting destinations such as Zodiac Grill, Apollo Bar, Shamiana, Montini Vaz, Golden Tanjore as well as awe-inspiring gourmet promotions for the Taj Group such as Lemon Grass Flavours, South East Asian Curry Festival and Souffle Festivals. Awarded the Executive Chef of the Year at the prestigious Hotel & Food Services Excellence Awards in 1993, Oberoi have won the hearts of countless ever since, including Bill Clinton. After joining the Taj in 1974, Oberoi quickly rose to the ranks and was posted to several cities including London and France. Grand Executive Chef of The Taj Mahal & Towers. He invented Khud cuisine where the fare is cooked and served in earthenware pots, created Ricetaurant, an international rice-based cuisine and Cal-Indian, a fusion of Californian and Indian food. First Indian chef nominated to World Gourmet Club and assisted in re-opening of Bombay Brasserie, London in 2009. A “super chef” who has fed prime ministers and visiting presidents as well as Hollywood and Bollywood celebs and corporate heavyweights, 2008 saw Oberoi’s most successful outing ever. Not only did he introduce Varq, the contemporary Indian brand at the Taj with creations like Varqui crabs, Martaban ka meat, Parmesan naan et al, he also launched Japanese restaurant Wasabi in Delhi with an incredible vegetarian spread making up almost 50 per cent of the menu.