‘We are unabashedly ourselves’: Chef Garima Arora on second Michelin star win

Gaa was launched in 2017 as a progressive Indian fine-dining restaurant offering a 12-course tasting menu. Currently parked in a 60-year-old traditional Thai house in the heart of Bangkok, it explores the flavours of India using East Asian ingredients. Over the years, the restaurant received many accolades—including its first Michelin star in 2018, debuting on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at no. 16 in 2019 with Arora being voted Asia’s Best Female Chef Award.

The chef-restauranteur clarifies that while she sees awards as great validation for her team, they don’t drive their goal, or alter their cooking styles in any manner. “Our food and cooking philosophy remain the same since day one. We believe in keeping our heads down and working hard and we keep pushing with what we think is the right way forward with our food. That’s the key to our success. The awards happened for the cooking; we didn’t cook for the awards. We are unabashedly ourselves,” she stated.

When it comes to taking a restaurant from one Michelin star to two, chef Arora shares that it is about honing the menu and the skills, and showing consistency. “When Michelin inspectors come in to review the second star, they come in multiple times and not only do they expect the food to be good, but they also expect it to be consistent over those visits. The team works hard, and we’ve been able to pull it together. To me, this is a big congratulations to my team,” she said.