Atul Kochhar: The Chef Who Lost Everything and Forgave
A Michelin star chef, betrayed by his own business partner, on losing everything and building it all again
Atul Kochhar grew up in Jamshedpur, in a family of cooks and bakers, watching his grandfather work the ovens and his father build a catering business from nothing.
That upbringing sent him first to Chennai, then to London in 1994, where he went on to open Tamarind of Mayfair and become the first Indian chef in the world to win a Michelin star. In 2018, his business partner used a legal technicality to force him out of the company he had built over eighteen years, wiping out his life savings overnight. Atul rebuilt within a week, and went on to open a group of restaurants while the man who pushed him out was left with just one.
Atul talks about that betrayal, the forgiveness that followed, and the men he has quietly mentored through his kitchens for over three decades. He puts it simply, "There is no pressure bigger than your life." He also opens up about nearly losing his daughter days after her birth, and how that changed what fatherhood means to him.
Quotes
"We were built macho, and men don't cry. That's a sign of weakness. I think we need to let that go."
This Episode Is About
Atul Kochhar talks to Naroop Jhooti about the 2018 betrayal that cost him eighteen years of work overnight, and the week it took him to decide to rebuild.
He talks about growing up around two very different men, his grandfather and his father, and what each one taught him about discipline and staying positive. He talks about running kitchens for three decades and quietly becoming a father figure to hundreds of young chefs, some of whom had nobody else to talk to.
And he talks about the night his newborn daughter nearly died, and what fatherhood asked of him after that.
Who This Episode Is For
- Men rebuilding after business or financial loss
- Men who struggle to forgive after being betrayed
- Fathers processing fear around a child's illness
- Men working in high pressure trades like hospitality
- Men raised to hide emotion and stay macho
What You'll Takeaway
- There is no pressure bigger than your life
- Forgiving someone is a favour to yourself
- Crying is washing your emotions off
- A downfall is a beginning, not an end
- Trust yourself again before you trust others
- Happiness is a practice, not an achievement
- Mutual respect builds stronger teams than fear
