Chef Ananda Solomon: The legend who keeps learning

Ananda Solomon tells us about how he did not want to be a chef, his gastronomic travels, and the inspirations behind some of his iconic dishes

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was then working with the prestigious Taj Group of Hotels and had just been assigned to handle the PR of a culinary legend in Mumbai–Chef Ananda Solomon.

My first introduction to Solomon was by means of whispers and warnings: people apprised me that he wasn’t enthusiastic about marketing, and that he could be tough to deal with. The lines between respect and fear appeared blurred to me. It seemed like most people knew him, but I don’t think anyone really did.

On 19 August 2013, I mustered up the courage to visit him at Mumbai’s Taj President Hotel. I arrived on time, dressed in a sari with pencil-high heels, notebook in hand, hoping to make a good first impression. Upon reaching his office, I expected a formal meeting but instead was taken on a walk around the service areas and the kitchens to a construction site. This was the space–then enveloped in grime and gravel–that would later become Solomon’s new-and-improved The Konkan Cafe.

Ignoring the dust around us, he spoke passionately about the laterite stone walls, the bells at the entrance and Vijayanagara coins carved into the walls to signify the presence of Goddess Lakshmi. He wanted the space to resemble a traditional home in Kerala, down to the choice of crockery–Kansya plates, keeping in mind their multitude of health benefits. He then excused himself to personally prepare a special, off-the-menu dish for a regular patron. Upon his return, he made sure to greet each guest, recounting anecdotes from their past experiences at his restaurants.

An hour of listening to Solomon’s vision, watching him delve into every minute detail and the warmth with which he welcomed each guest was enough to make me believe with certainty why he is one of India's greats.

Creating iconic restaurants

Interestingly, the man who changed the trajectory of India's culinary history by introducing the country to Italian, coastal and Thai food, Ananda Solomon never wanted to be a chef. Growing up in a family with an army background, food was just one of the many ways to bond with his near and dear ones.

The first food-lover he ever knew was his father Albert Solomon. While growing up, he watched patiently by his mother's apron strings as she ground spices to make sauces and preserves. As he grew older, Solomon, along with his four brothers and two sisters, helped their mother with this gruelling daily routine. They were now cooking not only for their large family but also the army mess where hungry soldiers and their clan were eagerly awaiting their share of fish curry and Malabar mutton stew.

Later he joined the Dadar Catering College in Mumbai where his raw talent was honed into the foundation of his skills. After graduating from his first job–with the Oberoi Group of Hotels in 1978–he moved on to managing the sauce section in the Hilton, Middle East. He returned to India in 1990 and joined Taj Group of Hotels in Goa, which sowed the seeds of his love affair with seafood.

From a sous chef whose job involved chopping over 30 kilograms of onions daily, he grew on to spearhead 37 kitchens for the Taj Group across 18 cities, creating iconic restaurants which, even today, are revered across the globe.

Prod him about the secret to his success and he will concur that a strong foundation is the key ingredient. “Before introducing India to Thai food, I travelled to Thailand to learn the culture and cuisine, I cooked with street chefs and even dabbled in the kitchens of the royal palaces. It was only when I felt I would be able to do justice to the authenticity of this exotic cuisine, did I launch Thai Pavilion.” The restaurant remains a highly coveted one even after close to three decades.

During Solomon’s tenure at the Taj, his guests included the who’s who in the country: Nita and Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Salman Khan, Deepak Parekh and Ratan Tata, to name a few. He even travelled internationally as part of the official entourage of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister of India.

A new beginning

After 26 years with the Taj, Solomon is now starting a new chapter in his life, opening his first flagship eatery–Thai Naam by Ananda in Mumbai. Despite being a culinary maestro, he returned to Thailand and spent a year to understand how Thai cuisine has evolved with time, before starting his new epicurean destination. “You are never too young or too old to learn,” he explains, as he sets out to the live kitchen to personally add finishing touches to each dish.

To know the story behind his signature dishes is to know the chef himself. His Tom Yum soup is reminiscent of his days in the royal kitchens in Thailand. His Marinara pizza is topped with tales from his travels to the by-lanes of Milan and his fish curry is nothing but memories of a young boy trying to please his father.

Years after receiving the National Tourism Award for the finest chef in the country, I ask him "Chef, who, according to you, is the greatest chef in the world?” He replies with a smile, “That's easy–my mother!”

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