How Krishna Bhanji became Ben Kingsley: Journey of the ‘Gandhi’ actor

an exclusive with Global Indian, the 34-year-old Chef Lakhan, a partner and the head chef at Mizu Izakaya, an upmarket Japanese restaurant, remembers, “When I was around 12, I would go for tuitions with other kids from my building. Once I made tomato baskets – with the flesh scooped out, filled with fruit pieces, and tossed in salt, pepper, and chaat masala. I took them for everyone at the tuitions; that is my first memory of cooking.”

[caption id="attachment_48257" align="aligncenter" width="551"] Hokkaido Grilled Scallops with Mentaiako[/caption]

At 17, after finishing his 12th grade in the IB curriculum, Chef Lakhan enrolled at the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Montreux, Switzerland. He recalls the unusual manner in which they were taught there. “The college had a beautiful five-star hotel which the students managed. The kitchen batch guys would run the kitchen, the housekeeping ones would make the beds for all of us and the cafeteria batch managed everything at the two cafeterias. We were taught everything in a practical way. I also got into a couple of internships during breaks. I worked at Zenzi in Mumbai for six months and for the second internship, at the Marina and Ocean Club Kitchen at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.

"It is a town that is similar to Miami but smaller. After going back to Switzerland, I did one more internship at the JW Marriott and several weekend part-time jobs at different kitchens. I came back to India after I completed my bachelor’s degree and launched IBar, an upscale cocktail and gastro pub that served food that was better than what is usually served at pubs. This was in Bandra Reclamation, behind Lilavati Hospital, in Mumbai.”

Making a strong foundation

The chef ran IBar for five-and-a-half years and the stint convinced him more than ever, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in the kitchen. But that meant he needed to have some more certifications under his chef’s hat. “I had to study for three more levels, especially in bakery and pastry if I wanted to be a chef. At 26, I went to the International Centre for Culinary Arts, Dubai to do a specialisation course. After that, I joined Chef Thomas at Bombay Canteen.”

 

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Underlying this entire career path was a deep and abiding interest in Japanese philosophy, culture, and food. He says, “I liked origami since I was a kid, and Japanese philosophy, how they treated their ingredients and their approach towards Mother Earth. I used to dream of studying and working there so I found my way to Japan for some culinary studies.”

Here, Chef Lakhan worked with Daisuke Namura, a third-generation chef who headed Sougo in Tokyo. Namura had worked earlier with the restaurant Daigo, started by his grandfather, which was a two-Michelin star restaurant. Namura was the chef's mentor. He recalls, “Namura worked at his family restaurant for ten years. The food and ambiance there were very formal and extremely culture-driven. He launched Sougo as a more relaxed place and he is best known for his contemporary creations that have reinterpreted Shojin Ryori cuisine.”

[caption id="attachment_48258" align="aligncenter" width="553"] Ramen Saporro[/caption]

The cuisine there was Japanese at heart but creative. “The restaurant followed a rule of five – five flavours – salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami, the fifth taste. The colours he worked with were black and white, red, yellow, and green. These flavours are drawn from ingredients to provide balanced nutrition to the body and equilibrium to the mind. He was also a teacher at the local university; I learnt a lot from him in three months. I also did a course on how to make Soba noodles – which are made from buckwheat flour or kuttu atta as it is known in India. I plan to launch these noodles here at Mizu soon where they will be made in-house and hand-cut.”

Fun and food, the Japanese way

On his return, in 2018, the chef set up a test kitchen to work on the ideas he had based on his learnings. He then wanted to go to Russia to learn some more. But, his childhood friend Vedant Mallik, with whom he had made plans during their early years that they would set up a restaurant together, intervened and suggested they should work on that dream instead of Chef Lakhan going off to foreign shores again.

[caption id="attachment_48259" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Mizu Negroni[/caption]

In 2019, the friends decided to launch Mizu Izakaya in Khar, in suburban Mumbai. The name means relaxed, fun, upscale dining. After COVID, they are back in the game and 80 percent of their ingredients are sourced from Japan. The chef adds however that, “We are very conscious of our carbon footprint, so what can be sourced locally, like crabs and prawns, we get from here. In keeping with this principle, we also work on recipes to eliminate wastage. So, the vegetable waste from a California roll is fermented and made into a hot sauce. The kitchen staff have to devise recipes using the ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. This is an annual task for them.”

The current food trend in Japan is Shojin Ryori cuisine – temple food cooked by monks. Sans any onion and garlic, it can be compared to Jain or sattvik food. But that is where the similarity ends. Chef Lakhan says, “This cuisine is becoming more and more prominent as it is quite different from other parts of the world. I have taken Shojin Ryori to the next level in my menu where the veg ramen has no ginger and garlic and the Shojin Dashi broth is made with seaweed and mushrooms. I also try and apply the rule of five to my veg and non-veg dishes.”

 

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Since he has worked with practically all kinds of ingredients, which is the one he likes the most? He says promptly, “Eggs. They are one of my favourite ingredients as you can cook an egg in a hundred different ways. It is so tasty no matter which way you cook it.”

Desi khana goes global

The chef innovates with Japanese cuisine and introduces influences from Indian cuisine as well. He says, “I switch to Indian ingredients when I can; when we were not able to source Japanese lemons, I started using the gondoraj lemon which comes from West Bengal and the North East. The salmon and gondoraj truffle is one of our star dishes. I also have a smoked garam masala sauce that I use for our Hamachi carpaccio. In our desserts, we use the Alphonso mango for our kakigori which is outstanding, as are the strawberries we get here.”

[caption id="attachment_48260" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Chef Lakhan with his friend and partner, Vedant Mallik[/caption]

Speaking of global trends, Chef Lakhan believes that currently, Japanese food dominates the world of eating out, especially fine dining. But vouches that “Indian and South East Asian cuisines like Taiwanese are going to be the next big thing. Regional Indian food is already becoming popular with so many chefs and restaurants winning Michelin stars. Chefs like Himanshu Saini are pushing boundaries – you only have to see how pani puri is driven into various formats to know how much Indian food has scored on the world stage.”

And even as the young chef keeps going back to Japan to work at sushi joints to brush up on his knowledge, what he comes back and creates, transforms into sheer art.

While travelling, Chef Lakhan likes to eat at:

• Sougo, Yakuo, Diago, all in Tokyo: Seasonal tasting menus
• Matsunozushi, Tokyo: Aanago fish
• Torigin, Ginza, Tokyo: Taukune skewers
• Masque, Mumbai: Chef Varun’s tasting menu
• Bandra Born, Mumbai: East Indian crab dip and pav brioche
• Hashida: Singapore: the signature hand roll and edamame espuma parfait
• Sg Low, Singapore: Mentaiko mac and cheese

Follow Chef Lakhan Jethani and Mizu Izakaya on Instagram

For her, the feeling of exhilaration while galloping on horseback is indescribable. “As the wind whips across your face, you feel a sense of freedom and liberation. The rhythmic pounding of hooves creates a thrilling sensation, making one feel in sync with the powerful creature beneath.”

At Herning

It was a proud moment for her, both personally and professionally. “I could represent India and show to the international community that we Indians also have what it takes to participate at the highest level in Dressage; a sport that is very dominated by the Western World especially Europe,” informs Shruti who rode Danish Warmblood Denightron to a score of 64.534.

Dressage is a form of horse riding where riders and their trained horse execute a series of precise movements.

Denightron

Shruti swears by her horse Denightron, which was bought at the age of four from Denmark. “I fell in love with his character the moment I saw him. It’s naughty, very playful, spooking at every corner of the arena but with eyes and  facial expressions that were almost human,” is how Shruti describes Deni boy, as she fondly calls him.

After her qualifying show in Hagen in June 2022, Denightron sustained an injury. “It was the result of being left unattended during the two years of Covid. With just two and a half months left for the World Championships, I saw my dreams crumble,” she recalls.

Even the vets advised prolonged rest and if need be, a surgery. But Shruti did not give up. “From medications, shock wave therapy, ice bandages 5 times a day, all my endeavours was to keep Denightron pain free. We got clearance from the experts two weeks before Herning (world championship),” she says.

The bonding she shared with Denightron led her to literally "talk" to him daily ; almost begging him to get well and pull it through. “Denightron had answered my prayers and helped me keep my head high with pride at Herning,” says the equestrienne

Like mother, like daughter

The Kolkata-born’s parents — Bimal and Nandini Nopany come from a conservative business Marwari family. “Despite being raised in a conservative business family background, my mother would ride horses at her residence. She is the reason that I fell in love with the sport and the animal,” says Shruti. Her brother Chandra Sekhar too rides horses.

Army riding school

“My love affair with the horses started from the Army Riding School at Ballygunge, one of the most beautiful riding clubs in India. I still have those vivid memories,” says the 52 year old.

She credits her instructors – Balbir Singh, a retired Army personnel and Kiran Singh for her success. “One taught me

the basics of riding and the other taught us on the educational side of riding – from learning about the anatomy of the horse  to understanding the use of tack, bit-ing and saddlery.”

Bright student

Shruti studied at Loreto House, a highly reputed convent school in Kolkata, from where she graduated with 82 per cent. She followed it up by First Division Honours in the Class 12 Higher Secondary Examination from the West Bengal Council of Higher secondary Education.

In 1990, she was offered a national scholarship in lieu of her academic performance for her under-graduation degree. “But I forfeited it as I felt someone less privileged could avail the scholarship,” says Shruti, who describes herself as a very conscientious student at school.

After completing her B. Com Hons. from the University of Calcutta, she enrolled for MBA from the European University in 1994, based out of Geneva, Switzerland.

Best coaches

Shruti was among the lucky few to have been trained under distinguished equestrians including Dr Reiner Klimke (who won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the summer Olympics), Anne Jensen-Van Olst, a Danish dressage rider who was part of the Bronze winning Danish team at the Olympic games in Beijing 2008.

“I was a great admirer of Dr Klimke’s skills and he was my inspiration. After a lot of persuasion, he agreed to coach me for a while and I would go on the weekends to Germany to train while doing MBA,” says the globetrotter.

She says her most memorable training period was with Patrick Le Rolland (one of the most gifted French Dresseurs and coach of the French national team). “Training with him one year was my MBA graduation gift from my parents.”

After graduating from the European university, Shruti returned to India and married Mitul Vora. She took a long break to raise her two children before returning to competition in 2010. After four years of practice, she won the 8th position at the Asian Games in 2014. “Discipline, dedication, commitment and fitness levels is required for any sport including dressage,” she says of what all went into the four years of training.

Jakarta 2018 Asian Games

In 2018, Shruti was left frustrated due to a controversial decision by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) which did not give its nod to Shruti and other equestrians despite qualifying for the games.

But like a true sportsperson, she did not give up. “I went straight into Grand Prix in April 2019 . I was placed in my very first national Grand Prix in St Margarethen in Austria. By August 2019 I had already obtained 2 MERs ( Minimum Eligibility Requirement),” informs Shruti, who became the first Indian ever to achieve the qualifying scores for Dressage for Tokyo 2020. However with only two individual spots, her points were not high enough for a seat.

Then covid struck. “The next 2 years were a wipe out . I managed to return to Europe only by the end of January 2022,” she says.

Kush & Zarina

Back in the day, Shruti’s father bought a wild pony for his children, soon after they were introduced to the sport. It was named Kush. “He had this beautiful white face, had four wonderful gaits for a pony and was full of energy at all times. He was a complete showman who helped me win every single category in those days,” informs the accomplished equestrienne, who was declared the best junior rider from1976 to 1979.

Subsequently, her father bought an experienced show jumping mare, which was amongst the first imports of sport horses into India. “Zarina as she was called, taught my brother and me the nuances of show jumping. She had the perfect bascule for show jumping and possessed a natural balance and athleticism,” informs Shruti, who has a string of four more horses.

Bucking

Shruti has her share of falls. “Kush had so much of character and energy that it was his constant endeavour to throw me off. Bucking, rearing, getting into the bushes were his traits,” recalls Shruti.

Each time she would fall, Shruti would bounce back. “Folklore in India has it that by falling off a horse’s back a 100 times, qualified one to be a competent rider . I managed to cross this magic figure,” she smiles.

Recalling one such memory of being thrown off, she says once she got blown away from the horse back with the strong gush of wind. “It was a cyclonic storm with winds of almost 80 kmph. Before anyone realised what had happened, I found myself on the ground without actually having been “thrown off ” by my horse.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC7Kum4Djjs

Male dominated

Shruti feels Equestrian sport in her childhood was very male dominated. Coming from a conservative Marwari family, Shruti’s parents were not comfortable of her going alone to the horse shows once I came into my teens. “So, my father took to riding. We would leave for the Calcutta race course at 5.30 am to rise and rush back to get ready for school by 7.15 am,” she recalls.

Miles to go

Despite her achievements, Shruti feels she is still in the learning stage of equestrian sport. “Compared to many of the European riders, my achievements are at best mediocre. I have miles to go,” the Global Indian adds.

• Follow Shruti Vora on Instagram