Chef Rahul Akerkar is one of the country’s most influential chef-restaurateurs and a defining figure in the evolution of India’s modern restaurant industry.
After spending the 1980s working across New York’s restaurant scene, he returned to Bombay and launched Indigo in 1999, a restaurant that became a landmark in Indian dining. He later co-founded deGustibus Hospitality, building concepts including Indigo Delicatessen, Neel and Tote on the Turf, before returning with Qualia in 2019.
Today, as Founding Chef and Culinary Director at Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality, Rahul continues to shape the industry through Ode. In 2026, he also published his first book, Biting Off More Than I Can Chew, part memoir, part love letter to food and part insider’s look at India’s evolving food culture.
His philosophy
I’ve never been particularly interested in whether something is Indian, Western or some “fusion” of the two. Those labels can become a little restrictive. For me, the question has always been simpler: does it taste good, does it make sense, and does it tell you something about the person who cooked it?Leadership has also changed for me. For much of my career I was my own boss and controlled virtually everything. Coming into a larger organisation with ABNAH forced me to learn how to delegate, listen and accept that not everything has to be done exactly my way. I’ve realised that you don’t have to try to be the smartest person in every room. You just must contribute something worthwhile.
His advice to young people who want to be entrepreneurs/chefs.
First, spend time learning the craft before worrying about opening your own restaurant. A kitchen is not Instagram. It’s hard, repetitive, physical work, and you need to understand what happens on both sides of the pass. And learn the business. You can cook a brilliant dish and still run a terrible restaurant. Understand your costs, your people, your suppliers and your numbers. I learned some of my most important lessons sitting over ledgers rather than standing over a stove.
I’d also say don’t become obsessed with being original. Be curious instead. Work for people who are better than you, absorb as much as you can, develop your palate and eventually find your own voice. And take risks but make sure they’re calculated risks. There’s a difference between courage and stupidity. Finally, develop a point of view. The world doesn’t need another restaurant that looks beautiful and serves food that could have come from anywhere. Tell us something. Make us feel something. Give us a reason to come back.
Being a ‘global Indian’
India has always been very good at absorbing outside influences and making them its own. We’ve been doing it for centuries. So I don’t see being global as becoming less Indian. I see it as being confident enough in your identity that you don’t have to keep proving it. And frankly, if I have to put a label on myself, I’d rather it be on a wine bottle than on my identity.
Interests outside work
I’ve always travelled a lot, and I’m probably happiest when I’m somewhere I haven’t been before. Photography was a serious interest when I was younger, and I used to backpack around India with a camera and very little of a plan. I still try to get away diving once or twice a year. I also tend to combine food research with holidays. If I can eat somewhere interesting and dive somewhere interesting on the same trip, that’s a pretty good holiday as far as I’m concerned. I prefer staying with locals to staying in hotels because that’s where you really get a sense of a place and its food. As for giving back, I’ve always believed more in sharing what I’ve learnt than in giving lectures about it. I’ve taught, mentored and judged young chefs over the years, and I enjoy that part of the profession. If my mistakes and experiences can save someone else a little time, money or heartache, that’s probably useful.
Looking ahead
I thought Qualia might be my final restaurant. Then I moved to Goa. Then ABNAH and Ode happened, and suddenly I was back in the kitchen again. So I’ve stopped trying to predict too far ahead. For now, I want to keep cooking, creating and working with interesting people. I’m interested in building restaurants that have a point of view rather than simply reproducing what already exists. I’m also enjoying writing and having the opportunity to share some of the lessons I’ve picked up along the way. I’m probably less interested in legacy than I once was. Legacy is something other people decide after you’re gone. I’d rather concentrate on doing interesting things while I’m still here.
Read the full story that first appeared in The Global Indian here:
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