Chef Garima Arora initially studied to be a journalist. She describes her childhood in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, as “tasty,” enriched by a Marwari neighbour and Mallu and Gujju best friends.
Halfway through journalism, she realised that cooking was her true calling. She moved to Paris to begin her culinary journey, training at Le Cordon Bleu and later working with culinary masters such as chefs Gordon Ramsay, René Redzepi and Gaggan Anand.
A short trip to Bangkok in 2016 hooked her to the unique blend of modernity and tradition she found in the local cuisine. A year later, Arora opened her debut restaurant, Gaa. “For me, Gaa has been about finding my way back home – finding my roots, culinary traditions, redefining them, and thinking about them.”
Within a year of its launch, Arora became the first Indian female chef to earn a Michelin star. Many awards and accolades later, by 2023, she debuted as the first female judge on MasterChef India. That year also marked a personal milestone as she embraced motherhood and celebrated Gaa earning its second Michelin star, which it retained last year for the 2025 Michelin Guide.
Naturally, the country awaited her return to open a restaurant in India. That wish was granted two weeks ago when, in partnership with seasoned restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani, she launched Banng in Gurugram and hopes to launch in Mumbai later this year.
In a virtual chat, a visibly pregnant Arora spoke about why consistency matters, flipping the narrative in Banng and how the world sees Indian cuisine. Edited excerpts:
Could you tell us about Baang?
With Gaa, it was about bringing a little bit of India to Bangkok. Now, I’m doing the reverse — bringing a piece of Bangkok back to India. Banng is about sharing the Bangkok I’ve come to love. The idea is to bring some really good Thai food to India.
Are we now going to see local produce blending with techniques from Thailand?
We will definitely be using a lot of local ingredients. But all our curry pastes will come directly from Bangkok. We will make them in the kitchen at Gaa and fly them twice a week to ensure the flavours are as real and authentic as they get.
The menu at Banng will still be fun. For appetisers, you’ll see more experimentation, with a mishmash of cuisines. For instance, we’re doing a tom kha soup — a coconut-based soup — but reimagining it as tom kha pani puri. We did trials in Bangkok, and people loved it there. Let’s see how Indians take to it!
Grilled chicken
What’s one essential skill for running a restaurant and leading its kitchen which is not spoken about as much as it should?
I believe the biggest investment you need to make in a restaurant isn’t money—it’s time. Your presence is crucial, especially when opening a new restaurant. If money alone could guarantee a successful restaurant, everyone would be doing it.
The last decade has been career-defining for you. What did you do right that worked in your favour?
The success is not mine alone, really. Along the way, I also found good, hard working people with a moral compass. My entire core team has been with me since day one. Manav Khanna, who joined Gaa as an intern nearly nine years ago, is now heading Banng in India.
One of the key things we did right was not chase accolades or success. Of course, I always wanted to be successful, but I never had a fixed idea of what that success should look like. I’ve always stayed true to the craft and focused on doing what I love. I’m definitely grateful for all the accolades but that’s not why we started this journey. The truth is, the more you chase accolades, the more elusive they become.
Turmeric fried rice
You are the only Indian woman to have two Michelin stars, and not only have you earned them, but you’ve also retained them for the second time this year. What does it demand from you personally?
When it comes to any kind of success — whether it’s a Michelin star, running a busy restaurant, or opening multiple businesses — it’s passion that drives it all. But passion and motivation can fade, and that’s where discipline steps in. It’s about knowing the right way to do things, being consistent and showing up. I’m at the restaurant every single day.
You’ve always spoken about consistency and discipline. Did you always have these ingrained in you, or did you cultivate them over the years?
It’s not something I had from day one, I’ll be very honest. I wasn’t that kind of person back then. When I first walked into the kitchen as an intern, I had this attitude that I was the best thing that ever happened to food or this industry. But I’m so glad my chef systematically brought me back down to Earth and taught me the importance of hard work, humility, and the need to keep my head down and work. That first year I spent as an intern (working at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant), and later as a commis, taught me grit. It instilled perseverance in me. So no, I wasn’t always like that. Over the years, through my experiences working in different kitchens, I learned the value of consistency and discipline.
You’re among the chefs who have led a movement spotlighting Indian ingredients and techniques. How does the world see Indian cuisine?
Chefs, both in India and abroad, are paying attention to micro-cuisines and indigenous ingredients. We’re at a moment where Indian food is poised to take the next big leap on the global stage.
The cuisines of most countries have already been extensively explored. Indian cuisine, on the other hand, is like a deep well — even we, as Indians, don’t fully know its boundaries. It’s open to rediscovery, interpretation, modernisation, and cataloguing. The sheer scope of work we can do in this area is immense — perhaps, enough to fill ten lifetimes.
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