How new-age chefs are transforming Himachal into a culinary haven

NAAR is a blend of Sadhu’s Kashmiri heritage and his extensive culinary experience, gained from studying at the Institute of Hotel Management in Gurdaspur and the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and working at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. The pandemic provided him with the opportunity to leave Masque and realise his dream of opening a restaurant in the mountains—a place he equates with home. Yet, the road to NAAR’s opening was not without its challenges. A severe monsoon in Himachal delayed construction by a month, but since its opening in 2023, the restaurant has received a promising response, validating Sadhu’s leap of faith.

What sets NAAR apart is its deep connection to the Himalayan region. Sadhu draws inspiration from local homes and ingredients, describing his approach as “taking the same alphabets but creating new words from them.” The restaurant sources most of its ingredients from the farms at Amaya Resort, where it is located, and the surrounding forest. The 15-course meals often feature seasonal produce like summer berries, dandelion leaves, and wild herbs, adding a new dimension to Himachal’s food culture. Through NAAR, Sadhu is ambitiously attempting to make Himachal a food tourism destination, at least in North India. With no precedent for this kind of venture, Sadhu’s decision to create NAAR was a leap of faith. “You just have to take the jump,” he says, “and by the time you land, you build your own parachute.”

Chef Prateek Sadhu’s restaurant NAAR offers a gastronomic journey through Himachal.

In Sanjauli, Shimla, another culinary endeavour is making waves. Chef Mohan Gyani’s Corner Café has become a beloved institution since its opening three years ago. Despite the challenges posed by the second lockdown, the café thrived due to high demand and the ability to operate at 50% capacity. Gyani’s extensive culinary background, including training at IHM Hyderabad and the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development in Delhi, laid the foundation for his vision of providing five-star quality food at affordable prices in Shimla. His interest in cooking was sparked during his college days, and he eventually found himself working as an executive chef at Wildflower Hall in Mashobra and Cecil in Shimla, where he fell in love with the region.

Starting The Corner Café in Sanjauli was a stroke of luck, but finding the right staff was a challenge. Due to the limited local expertise, Gyani had to train his staff to meet the restaurant’s standards, which took several months. Sourcing ingredients in Shimla also proved challenging, but Gyani emphasised the importance of using fresh, high-quality ingredients, including locally sourced vegetables like broccoli and zucchini. The Corner Café caters primarily to locals, offering dishes like sushi and thin-crust pizzas that were previously unavailable in Shimla. The café’s business is steady throughout the year, with the busiest periods during the summer months and long weekends. Despite the initial doubts, the café has continued to thrive, a testament to Gyani’s vision and dedication.

Meanwhile, in McLeodganj Market, Juniper Café has become a popular destination for both tourists and locals. Founded by Sonam Choedon and her boyfriend, Juniper Café is the result of their passion for cooking, which they turned into a business during the pandemic. Choedon, a self-taught chef with a master’s in English literature, spent seven months learning recipes through social media before designing the café’s menu. Her boyfriend took on the barista role, ensuring that Juniper Café would offer not just food but a complete café experience. “When you’re interested in something, I think learning becomes easier,” Choedon says, explaining how her love for feeding people drove her to open the café.

Another culinary success story in Himachal is Dochi Pizza, a gourmet pizzeria in Dochi village, Kasauli, founded by Vikas Gupta. (Express Photo)

Setting up the café in Dharamshala came with its challenges, particularly in terms of procuring equipment like coffee machines. However, the couple’s hearts were set on Himachal, where they both grew up, despite the business prospects being better in Delhi. Since its opening in 2021, Juniper Café has thrived, though Choedon and her partner are not keen on expanding until the café is firmly established. The café’s menu includes a mix of Western dishes, such as burgers and sandwiches, alongside Tibetan offerings like momos and Tibetan breakfast, reflecting Choedon’s cultural heritage. Most ingredients are sourced locally, but the coffee beans come from Karnataka. While the café attracts many tourists, it also has a loyal local customer base that keeps business steady, even during the colder months.

Another culinary success story in Himachal is Dochi Pizza, a gourmet pizzeria in Dochi village, Kasauli, founded by Vikas Gupta. A Delhiite who studied business in Melbourne, Gupta discovered his love for pizza-making during the pandemic while on a long vacation in the hills with his family. With a background in hospitality, including working at McDonald’s in Australia and running a boutique hotel in Delhi, Gupta decided to turn his newfound passion into a business. Learning the pizza-making process involved a lot of reading, online tutorials, and endless practice. When the pizzeria initially started being built, there was no plan for it, and even the name remained undecided for the first three months.

The biggest challenge Gupta faced was managing the availability and expiry of fresh produce in the hills. Local vendors provided fresh essentials like tomatoes, but ingredients like basil had to be procured in bulk. Cheese is sourced from a cheesemaking couple in Mashobra, and other necessities come from Chandigarh and Pune. Despite these challenges, Dochi Pizza has become a popular destination, with customers primarily being tourists. The pizzeria’s proximity to Chandigarh and the tri-city area, making it accessible while offering customers a taste of the hills, has contributed to its success. Gupta recalls the challenges of 2023’s heavy monsoon, which affected the entire region, but the pizzeria has since become a well-oiled machine with a fast turnaround time.

In Kasauli, Amaya resort’s kitchen and lab offer a glimpse into Himachal’s fresh produce and unique preparation techniques, led by head chef Prerna Bandal and head baker Rohan Adrekar. Both chefs, born and raised in Mumbai, were drawn to Amaya’s focus on sustainability and its farm-to-table approach. After working in five-star hotels in big cities, the opportunity to be part of something more hyper-local and organic, closer to nature, was a welcome change for them. Bandal, who holds a degree in hotel management, initially found the slower pace of working in Himachal to be a professional adjustment. However, she soon embraced the opportunity to learn about the local cuisine, particularly the Himachali celebratory meal called ‘Dham’.

In Kasauli, Amaya resort’s kitchen and lab offer a glimpse into Himachal’s fresh produce and unique preparation techniques, led by head chef Prerna Bandal. (Express Photo)

Amaya’s food programme is a reflection of its surroundings, showcasing produce from the resort’s farms, the surrounding forest, and local vendors. Despite the challenges posed by heavy downpours like those in 2023, the resort’s focus on sustainability and local sourcing has made it a unique destination in Kasauli. The lab at Amaya is particularly focused on making the most of native ingredients and produce, preserving them through methods like pickling, drying, and fermenting. One of their standout creations is pine honey, made by fermenting green pine cones with jaggery to produce an acidic syrup. These techniques allow them to store seasonal produce for longer periods and create dishes that draw inspiration from local traditions while incorporating creative twists.

For both chefs, the move to Amaya was a significant shift from their previous experiences in big cities. Bandal, whose maternal grandparents were farmers, felt a deep connection to Amaya’s ethos of respecting the produce and staying close to the farmland. Adrekar, who had worked at Baker’s Dozen and Masque in Mumbai, was excited by the opportunity to work with fresh ingredients and be involved in the milling process, something he had not experienced before. At Amaya, they have found a platform to showcase authentic Himachali food and its techniques, along with a sustainable approach that resonates with their values. As Adrekar aptly observes, “Everything seems interesting to me since I moved to Amaya.”