Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi

Home Town : Mumbai

Cooking Style : Family, friendly and Gourmet

Biography

While some of the Chefs have their meals critiqued by the guests, Chef Harpal faces his toughest critics at home every meal time.

Whenever the father-of-two daughters cooks meals for his family, the critics in his kids don’t mince words while telling him what they do and don’t like about the food he’s cooked for them.

“It’s definitely challenging to assemble a repertoire of sure-fire dishes that the whole family likes so I don’t have to cook separate meals every dinner,” says Chef Harpal, who lives in Mumbai with his wife Aparna and their daughters Anushka (eleven) and Antra (nine). “I love Indian food and all the spices that go into it. My kids agree with me wholeheartedly though sometimes I find myself making Asian and International food too. My daughters definitely love to be involved in the kitchen when I am cooking for them and occasionally they help in cutting and stirring the dishes too.”  

Growing up with two older sisters and one brother, Chef Harpal was inspired by his parents when it came to cooking. “Food to me is symbolic of family,” says Chef Harpal, who dreams of running a restaurant one day. “I have great memories of my family sitting around the table eating, and my mum loved to have a lot of dinner parties. I used to love hanging around the kitchen watching her cook.”

“Dad influenced me too. He was employed with the Indian Railways and travelled a lot on work, so was culturally aware and wanted us kids to try as many different foods as we could. Mind you, in those days, having a Chinese meal or trying something like garlic prawns was a big deal!”

Although his parents instilled a love of cooking in him, it wasn’t until 1987 when he completed his Catering diploma from Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar and set out as a Chef in the hospitality industry that he truly got to indulge his passion. He grew as a Chef learning various cuisines until he got the chance to work with an old time Ustad (expert) in Hyderabadi Cuisine and travelled the by lanes of Hyderabad to learn more about the intricacies of Hyderabadi cuisine.  

Surprisingly not many people know that the famous Indian Culinary show Khana Khazana was started by him.  

“Personally I love watching cookery and travel shows primarily because it tells you about the cultures of various countries. I’ve been privileged to have got the chance to travel extensively and eat at some amazing restaurants across the world which further enabled me to learn more about food.”  

“I like to spend a lot of time cooking and my cooking style is often driven by my passion to play around with ingredients. I cook with whatever is available and create unique dishes.”  

“I believe in ‘Cook well to eat well’ policy”.  

His family has been very supportive of his dream and are waiting eagerly to see him on his upcoming favourite Cookery shows Turban Tadka and Sirf Tees Minute.