We had the chance to interview Bikram Das, renowned International Chef on why he joined the Curry Up Now team in March of 2023. Read on to hear about his compelling story in the culinary world; from creating in the kitchen as a child, to preparing meals for the Ambani family, and eventually designing the operations and innovations for over 20 Curry Up Now locations. Corporate Executive Chef Das also dives into how he is putting a twist on Curry Up Now’s Indo-Californian cuisine.
Learn more about the largest Indian fast casual franchise in the country, Curry Up Now.
Growing up amongst all organic and exotic ingredients and produce in different states of Bhutan, Chef Bikram had a passion for creating in the kitchen from a young age. Bikram’s parents encouraged his early infatuation with food and supplied him with tools at his school food canteen where he could recreate his favorite dishes that were taught at his home. After joining the Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata , Bikram got his first chef’s knife and began his culinary adventure.
Bikram’s culinary repertoire flourished during career in India where he learned and worked his way up the ranks while working with International brands like Hyatt, Marriot, Taj etc. He developed and refined his culinary skills at “Blue Ginger”, A Vietnamese restaurant in Taj West End, Bangalore. Later, Bikram proceed to Hyatt Regency, Kolkata where he served as a Chef De Cuisine. After spending 2 years with the Hyatt, Bikram went on to take the role of Executive Chef at the “Raajkutir”.
Bikram was exposed to the creative expressions of the British Era Cuisine and implemented use of Asian and progressive Indian cooking techniques. During his career in India he prepared meals for celebrity guests, including the Ambani family, Sri Ratan Tata, Virat Kohli, Abhishek Bachan, DJ Martn Garrix,Juhi Chawla, Kailesh Kher, to name few. After building his skills at fine dining establishments in India, Bikram was eager to continue his culinary adventure beyond the borders of his country.
In 2020, he became Executive Chef of Amber India in Santana Row, cooking Prix-fixes menus with a distinctive Cali-Indian tack. While at Amber, Bikram worked intimately with seasonal produce and local farmers, adjusting menus multiple times each week to reflect the fluctuating bounty of the area’s cornucopian markets.
With 2.5 years of experience at Amber, Bikram was inspired to work with an American and Spanish Cuisine. In 2022, he became the Executive Chef of Mohi Social,Morgan Hills, where he elevated local food standards. At Mohi Social, he executed a menu that constantly evolved in response to available ingredients, showcasing intricate fresh produce and innovative techniques that blended the myriad methods he acquired in his previous kitchen experiences.
Continuing with his culinary values, Bikram accepted a job as Corporate Executive Chef for Curry Up Now in 2023. While with Curry Up Now, he takes care of the Culinary operations and innovations of 20 outlets. He travels to different states spanning both coasts and the American heartland.
When he is not in the kitchen, Bikram enjoys being out in the mountains, beaches and barbequing. He looks forward to bringing his innovation, experimentation, and Indo-Chinese cuisine to “Curry Up Now”.
How have you put a twist on Indian food with Curry Up Now?
Curry up now as a brand has always been creative. We came up with lots of creative items such as the:
- Guac Sev Puri: When one thinks of papdi, they always think about papdi chaat, but we came up with a papdi with guac and sev.
- Tacos: It has always been a Spanish thing, but we came up with a Indian version of tacos with chicken or shrimp 65.
- Burritos: Traditionally, its always served hot/warm but we came up with the burrito that can be served cold and its very light and healthy.
- Kebabs: Traditionally kebabs are usually made in Tandoor or Sigree but we tried to be creative and and cook them in Combi Ovens/MerryChefs/Plancha.
- Naan: Traditionally Naan arhaev been always made in Tanddor, We moved from a Tandoor to a modern rotating flat oven.
What menu trends are you seeing in the restaurant space?
- Short and Crisp Menu: This helps in maintaining consistency and a higher rate for rotation of inventory
- Immersive Dining Concepts: From themed pop-up dinners to interactive chef’s tables, restaurants are creating an atmosphere that goes beyond traditional dining.
- Tech-Driven Dining Experience: We have an example at San Ramon and San Mateo where we have robots serving food
- Sustainability Takes Center Stage: Environmental consciousness is a key focus for both consumers and restaurateurs
- Hyper-Local and Hyper-Fresh: Consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, and this trend is pushing for even more localized and fresh options.
- Culinary Collaborations: Collaborations between chefs, restaurants, and even different industries are on the rise.
How do you use the menu items you create to connect with customers?
Food is a universal language. And through food, we can always connect to customers:
- Bun Samosa: Any Indian would have some memories connected with Bun Samosa.
- Burrito: When you break down, its roti, daal, and sabzi that has been wrapped together.
- Indo-Chinese: Its something that anyone can relate to.
- Ravioli: Not an Indian thing but we have it in our menu with an Indian twist, that’s how we connect to the rest of the world.
- Naughty Naan: It’s a Naan but but it’s a pizza- and that’s the connect.
- Sexy Fries: Its our take on poutine, another connect.
What advice would you have for young chefs just starting out?
- Go after the knowledge first not the money.
- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It’s better to take your time and do your prep work correctly rather than a fast hack job. Speed will come with practice.
- Sharp knives. If you don’t know how to using a honing rod, learn. Mise en place: learn what it is, apply it everywhere you go in the kitchen.
- Taste Food, If you think that that the dish is worth $xyz,send it out or else don’t
- Reading On Food and Cooking, and the Food Lab cookbook. understand the science and process of cooking which would help to be more flexible (ie. Even though the recipe says do XYZ you could actually do it ZXY).
- I think the most important thing to learn as a cook is that there are no rules, authentic, traditional, these words don’t really mean any thing. Don’t get hung up on them. There are many methods of doing and creating, don’t be so arrogant to think that the way you know is the best or only way. This mentality is extremely prevalent in our industry so avoid getting trapped in it because you will stop growing.
- I’ll leave you with a quote from a young Bobby Flay. That helped me when I was learning.
- “Keep your mouth shut, pay attention, help out where ever you can, and everyone will want to teach you.”
What vision do you see for Curry Up Now? Where do you think the brand will be in 10 years?
There isn’t a chain of Indian restaurant that as strong as Curry Up Now. It’s a concept where we really don’t need an Indian chef to execute at each store.
We aren’t a Hundi and Patila place. We don’t say that we are an authentic place to be, but Curry Up Now is the road bringing traditional Indian to the table with modern Cali fusion that has been 125 years in the making. This super highway between the Land of Spices and the Land of Dreams is open for business.
Final destination: your mouth. Well, your whole family’s mouth, really.
We are expanding in US and by 2025 we would be in UK. I firmly believe we would the the first Indian cuisine chain restaurant that would be flourishing across the globe.