How Chef Gaggan Anand arrived at a price tag of Rs 50,000 a plate for his Delhi residency

Gaggan Anand at his restaurant in Bangkok.

Brutally blunt, ridiculously passionate and hugely talented Gaggan Anand is often hailed as the ambassador of progressive Indian cooking. A seat at his Bangkok based restaurant usually requires monthsg of pre-booking. So, when he flies his team and all the fancy gadgetry to India for a 25-course theatrical dining experience in India, gourmands take note. Even if the meal is priced at a whopping Rs 50,000! That’s the magic of Gaggan. Edited excerpts from the interview:

You are coming to India after 12 years for this residency. How excited are you?

I have done many pop-ups in the last few years. This is the first time I am doing a residency. The idea is to operate as a restaurant and give the same experience as that of a meal at Gaggan in Bangkok here in Delhi. I am super excited and it’s super challenging too. Everything is against you. People ask so many questions. Everything is computerised and there is a system. You have to go through that system. It’s not easy.

Lick it up: one of the most popular courses at Gaggan in Bangkok.

The meal is priced at Rs 50,000! How did you arrive at that price tag?

I know people are questioning my price and I have a very simple answer for that. We will be closing Gaggan Bangkok for almost six weeks for the residency in Delhi and flying down 18 members from my team of 35 people. But I still have to pay my valet, my rent, electricity, maids and everyone else who’s not travelling to India. Then you have logistics like flights, hotel stays, meals — when you calculate all that, it still doesn’t meet the price of what we are selling. We will still be losing around Rs 10,000-12,000 per person. But Hyatt was quite flexible and, more importantly, they had the jigar, the heart to go out and buy out my price to do this. People think it’s just 20 days of the residency but revenue-wise, it’s six weeks. All said and done, it will still be cheaper than taking a flight to Bangkok for a meal at Gaggan which is almost $400. And you are still not guaranteed a table!

What is the waiting list at Gaggan now?

We are sold out for February. We opened booking for March last week and March-April is getting sold out now.

Red Matcha at Gaggan.

How many of the people booking the meal truly understand your food or will it be mostly brag points?

That’s the curse of what I do. I can’t help that. How many people who buy Hermes Birkin even know the story of Birkin? So, I understand that. I cannot filter who my guests will be. But I do hope that the people who come will understand us and what we do. Not everyone who owns a Ferrari will necessarily drive it to the potential of the Ferrari.

The table sizes are restricted to four people per table. And all the tables are staggered. So, no rich guy can come and say — I want to buy you out! Pricing will also in a way help us to filter out the crowd. I know a lot of people will not be able to afford the meal. But don’t you save up to go to Maldives? Don’t you save up to go to Goa or to Kashmir? So you just have to save up to have a meal at my restaurant. That’s it.

What are the things you are flying down from Bangkok?

Just the team and the equipment. Rest all the ingredients will be locally sourced. I want to prove the point that you can make a great meal with local ingredients. But that’s also another problem with India. People will ultimately say, he used local ingredients but still charged so high. This is the problem with Indians. The only industry that is relevant in local pricing in India is fashion. People don’t mind paying the top price for a fashion designer in India. And that’s exactly what I want to prove — food is fashion!

What are your views on sustainability with regards to fine-dine, especially in the context of Noma wrapping up in 2024?

I think Noma has its own problems. It’s trying to run away from its 20 years of slavery. My old team since the time I started is still with me. Asia may have its third world problems but we don’t take advantage of people’s talent and need for exposure to peel potatoes. And work for 18 hours a day in inhuman conditions. Inhuman conditions in a first world country is worse than inhuman conditions in third world country. We have our own problems, such as child labour and other things, but you are the third world and you should have had those systems 20 years ago. Noma has nothing to do with us and we should not be compared.

Sali boti at Gaggan.

So, what exactly is fine-dining to you?

Fine-dining is not going to an expensive looking, beautiful restaurant and paying $800 for a meal. For me, fine-dine is standing in chaos and eating a puri subzi on a foggy morning anywhere in India. That memory and experience is fine enough. You can never get that feeling in a fancy restaurant. Ultimately, food linked to emotions and memories is what makes a meal truly fine-dine in nature.

You love music and it’s an integral part of your life. What’s the music playing in your kitchen when you are cooking?

It’s very random. Lots of rock 'n roll, Pink Floyd and classic. Currently I am listening to a lot of Pearl Jam.

What does your food lab in Bangkok look like?

Well, the food lab is now a food theatre. So, you sit inside the lab for the chef’s table and the meal itself is like an opera. Now Gaggan is only a 14-seater restaurant. We operate four days a week, for two rounds. We only do eight services a week.

If you had a choice to feed a famous person, who would you pick?

I would have loved to cook for Mahatma Gandhi. He was not a foodie like Nehru or Winston Churchill who loved his whisky. I would have loved to talk to him while I cooked. There will be emphasis on salt. He taught India ethics. He made sure that India was secular. These haters would have never liked him as a secular person. And that’s why he was shot. Had I been an American I would have loved to cook for John F Kennedy. And may be have Marilyn Monroe on the same table!

Where do you think restauranteurs go wrong?

Firstly, they try to make it very scalable so that they can make money faster. And they want a rocking bar. But the biggest problem in India is the failure to educate the guest. When you go to a French restaurant or a high end restaurant in New York you behave like you belong there. But when you come to India you behave like Indians. The other problem is that everyone in India wants to be a Noma. Why? They want to find ingredients that are Nordic in India. We have not even glorified our spices. They shy away from a balushahi but love to make a brioche or a croissant. How f****d up is that! People are tying to impress each other with churros. India is a great market and it does sell well, but are we on the right track. Why is Indian mithai not elevated? Why is the kachori not elevated? Why is our dhokla, dosa or  makke ki roti and sarson ka saag not personified? And that is going to be me in India.

Will we have a Gaggan in India?

There will never be a second Gaggan. That’s the reason we are closing the restaurant in Bangkok to come to India. This residency will answer that question — would I, should I come to India.

So, are you testing waters with this residency?

Absolutely. It’s an experiment. I will see if there is a need for a Gaggan in India. If I see that people are loving the food and feel that it’s worth it, then I will think of opening here. But if  they come just to flash their ego then I will never open. I can’t change the ones who already love me. I am trying to change the people who don’t like me.

What are you going to take back from Delhi?

It’s funny but I had a meeting with my staff yesterday and I told them, 'I want 10 kg of luggage from each one of you.' I am definitely taking dried rose petals, dried fruits which is the best in the world, good rice and some seasonal ingredients. I would love to take bheja fry but I don’t think I can.

You have shed a lot of weight.

Yes, I am into healthy food now. My girlfriend Mint Pattarasaya who is a model and an actress is a health freak. She watches every ingredient she eats. So, we don’t eat carbs, dairy or sweets. Can you imagine I have no sugar in my house?

Note: The residency at Hyatt Regency, Delhi, will run from February 18 to March 14, 2023. The meal is priced at Rs 50,000 with alcohol, and Rs 40,000 without alcohol.