CHEF Chandan taneja
"In India, food is our religion. Anyone can cook, but to be a Chef takes hard work because people not only care for taste but also presentation. People eat with their eyes now."
- Chef Chandan Taneja
EARLY LIFE
From humble beginnings, Chandan Taneja was born into a rich Indian Punjabi culture with strong traditions where you not only see but feel the warmth in the love and care put into everything, including the food. Raised on a dairy farm, at an early age Chandan learned from his mother and father that the love and care needed to rear cattle was similar to making delicious food. Cooking poultry and game was one of his favorite activities. His strong upbringing and love for cooking would lay the foundation as a chef and culinary artist.
EDUCATION & EARLY CAREER
In 2007, Chandan was admitted to the Acharya Institute of Hotel Management and Sciences in Bangalore, India. As a hotelier, he experienced many areas from Front desk Management to Sales and Marketing. It wasn't until his 3rd year that he found his calling taking a deeper dive into Food & Beverage production and service.
After graduating with a Bachelor degree in Hotel Management in 2011, Chandan began working with renouned Taj Hotel's Masala Klub, a 5-star fine dine restaurant in Bangalore, India. Within two years, he became the Chef De Partie where he was responsible for running and ensuring the smooth kitchen operations. His fresh and unique twist on traditional recipes, and excellence in the kitchen was quickly recogonized and was promoted to Sous Chef the following year in 2014.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Food Popup with world renouned Executive Chef Gaggan Anand
As the sous chef at Masala Klub, Chef Chandan led his team to through major food festivals and popups across the country. Notably the popup at the Varq, an iconic restaurant at the 5-star Taj Hotel in New Delhi symbolizing great food and hospitality, Chef Chandan impressed with new, trendy food tastings.
During the Gaggan popup, Chef Chandan worked side by side with world renouned Executive Chef Gaggan Anand. Anand has been featured on the Netflix series Chef's Table Volume 2, and owns the Gaggan Restaurant, which held two Michelin stars and was awarded Asia's top restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand and #7 worldwide.
In 2015 and 2016, Chef Chandan won the prestigious International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) award of Best Hotelier at Masala Klub for his innovative ideas and extrodinary contribution to the hospitality industry.
GLOBAL CULINARY EXPERIENCE
Modern Indian Cuisine Showcase Taipei, Taiwain
Chef Chandan's dedication and natural talent led him to be chosen to showcase modern Indian cuisine at the 5-star Grand Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan in 2017. During the month long showcase, Chef Chandan's impact to the Taiwan market was not only hugely successful but also significant because it changed the mindset of the people about Indian cuisine.
He was then asked to train a group of chefs at the hotel the different techniques of cooking from a tandoor, sigri, and tawa to curries and Indian desserts. Through his tasty, unique, and innovative food creations, he won the hearts of the people of Taipei.
In 2018, Chef Chandan received an offer to join the prestigious Michelin star restaurant, Amaya Grill and Bar in London, UK as the Sous Chef. After over 15 years since this ground-breaking restaurant first opened, Amaya remains at the forefront of the Indian food scene in London: often replicated but never bettered. Amaya loosely translates as "without boundaries" and Chef Chandan intends to keep it that way, pushing boundaries and honing his craft as a culinary artist.