Michelin Starred Chef Alfred Prasad In Sri Lanka

“I’ve always felt drawn to the kitchen,”, claimed Chef Alfred Prasad, who was in Sri Lanka last week for three curated dinners organized by Trekurious. The programs consisted of a six course dinner at the Mount Lavinia Hotel on March 19, where he displayed the skills which earned him a Michelin star, and created dishes with rich Indian flavours, next, a five course dinner at the Aditya Resort in Galle on March 21, which highlighted Indian street food, and on March 22, he concluded with a master class where participants prepared a three course meal, using his award winning recipes.

Alfred Prasad graduated from Chennai’s Institute of Hotel Management in 1993, and was handpicked to undergo chef training at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi, at the hotel’s iconic flagship restaurants Dum Pukht and Bukhara – known for serving refined North Indian cuisine. He spent three years at the establishment training to be a chef, which he says laid the foundation for his knowledge of Indian cuisine today. Three years later, he moved to the Sheraton in Chennai and took charge of operations at the Dakshin restaurant which specialized in traditional South Indian fare.

In 1999, he moved to London and joined Tamarind of Mayfair as a sous chef in 2001, upon which he became an executive chef and director of cuisine within a year, and went on to earn a Michelin star for the restaurant, which is known for serving Prasad’s very own take on Indian cuisine – warm, spicy and comforting flavours.

“Having worked with large teams and even larger kitchens back in India, this came as a bit of a shock to me because of the tiny kitchens and very few staff. And the food that was served was perceived to be Indian food by customers but in my head, it was most definitely not, so that turned out to be a bit of a reality check for me. But still, it was quite exciting to be in London, and I think it’s one of the greatest cities in the world, and very soon I came to realize that it was the best place for an Indian chef to be. The British are absolutely in love with not just Indian but sub continental cuisine, and it’s because of the way we use our spices and ingredients,” he explained.

He is working towards opening his own restaurant soon, and is also writing his first book. His must have ingredients at any given time for a meal varies between green chillies, red chillies, cloves of garlic and peppercorns.

By Sarah Kellapatha
Photographs courtesy Kanishke Ganewatte/Trekurious