Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions with Chef Sujan Sarkar of Indienne

Biryani. Calcutta biryani. I’m from Calcutta. It’s so simple but so complex. You see yellow rice, there’s masala. It’s unique. I’m from there and grew up eating it.

Eating at Pujol. When I was doing Indian, I was thinking, “Am I doing the right thing?” But when I went to Pujol, you see different cuisines done so simply, but so good. It’s so special. When you see someone taking a cuisine that is simple and rustic… I will eat there 20 times. I have never talked about a fine dining tasting menu like this.

Progressive, and it should be exciting. And service, of course, and hospitality.

My goal is to create opportunities for the next chefs. I can think about what I want to make better, and I still work in other kitchens. I want to open restaurants with chefs who I see are ready. One chef can only run one restaurant. Sometimes you feel responsible for the people who are good and deserve an opportunity. I don’t want them to go through the same struggles as me. I want to support them. That’s my goal: to open honest restaurants backed by people who deserve this opportunity. I opened Tiya in San Francisco with my brother, who is better than me in some ways. He worked with me for six years. I gave him creative freedom, but we run the business. That’s why we opened Sifr, Swadesi Cafe, and Nadu.

I have never been to Noma. A lot of my chefs worked there. Also Enigma in Barcelona. I’m always excited to see how things are going. There’s a Thai restaurant run by Indian chefs [Abhiraj Khatwani and Mohamad Orfali] in Dubai called MANĀO. It was voted the best restaurant in MENA (Middle East and North Africa). It’s honest food and non-alcoholic pairings.

Simple and flavorful food that’s progressive at the same time. It should be exciting as well. Otherwise it’s very boring.

My comfort food is khichdi. It’s normally lentils, rice, some vegetables, and some spices like turmeric. It’s like a porridge. I add millet because my sugar level is higher. When I was a kid, we would have this for breakfast. In India, it’s super comfort food—it’s nutritious. It’s so hearty.