For chef Priyam Chatterjee, the inspiration for his cooking comes from Kolkata. Long before he became the first Indian chef to receive France’s Ordre du Mérite Agricole and earned recognition in the Michelin Guide through Singapore’s Roia, he was just a boy from Behala.
He grew up eating his mother’s cooking, playing the drums, painting landscapes, and learning that food was the centre of every family gathering. Today, even after spending years in some of France’s finest kitchens, Chatterjee says that Bengal remains the foundation of his culinary philosophy. My Kolkata caught up with him before he put up his culinary showcase in Kolkata this weekend.
A childhood in Kolkata seasoned with food and art
Born and raised in south Kolkata’s Behala, Chatterjee started schooling at South Point High School before moving to boarding school in Kalimpong.
The different phases of his life gave him exposure to contrasting food cultures. From home-cooked Bengali meals to hostel fare and the fresh produce of the hills — he learnt farming and gardening as a teenager.
“My mother is from Noakhali [in Bangladesh], and my father’s family is from Kolkata. I was always surrounded by great food and great cooks. As Bengalis, hosting family and friends was a way of life. Food was sacrosanct,” he said.
Even though he was fond of both ‘Bangal’ and ‘Ghoti’ food, cooking was not his first love. He painted for nearly a decade while in school, played drums in a college band and dreamt of joining the armed forces. When none of it quite worked out, his mother encouraged him to pursue the culinary arts.
“I’ve always believed I was an artist who eventually found food as the medium of expression,” the chef, in his late 30s, told My Kolkata.
The journey to France that took almost a decade
Chatterjee spent years learning French culinary techniques before trying his hand at innovation
After completing his formal culinary education at Kolkata’s NIPS School of Hotel Management, he joined the opening team of Park Hyatt Hyderabad. That is where he worked alongside French chefs for the first time, and the experience changed everything.
“I fell in love with French cuisine. Standing in front of the Eiffel Tower became my dream.”
It took about nine years for that dream to come true. He built connections and cooked for influential diners. Recalling his early days in France, chef Priyam said, “I was learning all along from chefs there. I went on to become the youngest and only Indian chef to receive France’s prestigious agricultural knighthood.”
Learning before leading
Chatterjee says that he entered French kitchens with humility, determined to absorb everything before he tried his hand at innovations.
“I went there to learn French cuisine. Why would I mix it with something else before understanding it? For five years, I kept my head down and did my work.”
And that discipline paid off.
His career had a turning point when senior French chefs encouraged him to stop trying to cook like them. “They told me, ‘Your food is Michelin two-star, but you’re not French. You are Indian. One day you have to bring your own spices and your own roots into your food.’ That conversation changed everything.”
It made him go back to his mother and aunts for family recipes. He found a style of cooking that was rooted in French techniques but drew its soul from Bengal.
When Bengal meets France
Chef Priyam’s Daab Chingri is a refined composition of mousse, poached prawns, granita and aromatic oil
Chatterjee does not believe in throwing in Indian spices to French dishes. He focuses on shared cultures and history between the two.
“I chose French cuisine because France and Bengal share nearly 300 years of history. Chandannagar still carries that legacy. Mustard, fish and many flavour profiles naturally connect both cuisines.”
He cites several examples he has created — Gobindobhog rice, which becomes a Parmesan risotto; Nolen Gur replaces conventional caramel and Jaggery finds its way into French desserts.
One such creation is ‘Daab Chingri Climate Change’, inspired by a familiar Bengali memory. “You come home late at night, open the fridge and eat cold daab chingri without reheating it. I wanted to capture that exact nostalgia.”
A chef with no signature dish
Two of the chef’s culinary expressions
Unlike many celebrated chefs, Priyam does not like to identify one dish as his signature. “If I cling to one favourite dish, I’m clinging to the past. That makes me biased and insecure. I always want to keep creating.” His focus remains on the next idea rather than repeating old successes.
Kolkata for him still tastes like home
Despite cooking in Michelin-recognised restaurants across the world, Priyam’s favourite meals remain unapologetically local and often from the streets.
He shared a Kolkata food trail that begins with Putiram’s breakfast before moving to Bhim Nag for sweets, Doma Wang’s Tibetan food at Blue Poppy, Hatari and Mandarin on Southern Avenue, Flurys, Cookie Jar’s mutton patty, Russell Dhaba’s chicken bharta, Sharma Dhaba’s kebabs, Nusrat’s biryani in Lake Gardens and, of course, an old-school egg roll with a tawa paratha and not a lachha.
“I don’t want fancy versions. I want the egg roll where the egg is cooked to death and smells amazing,” the Behala boy said, laughing.
Chef Priyam returned to Kolkata this month for the French-European Gastronomy Weekend at Glenburn Penthouse, presented by Gormei, where he will cook alongside fellow Kolkata-connected chefs Rishabh Seal and Shaun Kenworthy.
For him, homecoming is about more than showcasing fine dining. “I can cook the best French food in the world, but my skin is Indian. I have to be proud of that. If people cannot relate to what I cook, then I have failed.”
Dining and Cooking