We speak with celebrity chef and chef proprietor of Café Spice Namaste Cyrus Todiwala about his rise in fame and the key to success.
You said you were inspired to become a chef by your mother’s unforgettable cooking, who else inspired you to become the person you are today?
As a budding chef, one of the first chefs I looked up to, even when I was still in India, was Anton Mosimann. If I was to emulate someone and be as good, then it was him. We are now good friends, but he is still my hero – turns out we worked under the same crazy chef some years ago but at different times and places.
During the young budding years and even before I had decided that I wanted to cook for a living, I used to hang around the kitchens of one of our family friends who had a hotel in the town where I was schooling. He had some great cooks there and one in particular whose name was Goshai, he was brilliant.
What was the moment you decided to be a cook?
Tough one to answer. The first thing was wanting to go in catering. I guess I wasn’t bad at cooking and was selected by the Taj hotels to work for them, so got into it whether at that time felt it right or not. But I enjoyed every moment of it and kept learning – which I am still doing. So my career officially began on 29 May 1976 – strangely our son Jamsheed is born on the same day, ten years later.
Did you have other possible careers in mind?
I would have liked to go into agriculture of some sort but I had a keen interest in many things and just had no clue. Call me dumb and academically lazy but back then a catering qualification meant at least twenty subjects. Kids here have got it very easy. We had to study it all and then specialise.
You moved from India to the United Kingdom to start a career here. Why the UK?
We were actually planning to move to Australia but a dear friend that I worked with in Bombay, who is now sadly departed got in touch asking me if I would come to the UK and run a restaurant with him instead. I loved London having worked at the Hilton on Park Lane as well as spending time there for a number of restaurant openings, so London felt like home. It was closer to home too. My parents were ageing and we wanted to be nearer. We had a few cousins living here which tipped the balance really fast in favour of London.
What’s the proudest moment of your career?
I find it very difficult to say this. I have had a few great moments and been very, very lucky as a chef. But of recent times, it would probably be being asked to organise and cook for Her Majesty’s very first diamond jubilee luncheon. That, and being rewarded by my industry and colleagues and peers for all that I have done for the industry, with an MBE.
Would you change any decisions if you could?
Many, but if we live by those we fail to succeed in life. I have made many mistakes but then positive things have come out of them too. So I have no regrets, success or failure is all my doing.
What’s the most important key to success in life?
Hard work, honesty, patience, listen and learn and do not undermine anyone, money is not everything, your foundation is crucial. Think of success in your mind and what you wish to achieve and often you may find yourself there. I fail often in this and do sometimes regret that I am not wealthy and wish I could buy this or that and go here or there without constraints, but then I have a great life, a super family and still manage to do many things that I love and enjoy doing. Our greatest wealth are our friends and family and we are blessed……the Aston Martin and the Bentley and a great house with a garden can wait. Perhaps this is what is waiting for me when I bid the world farewell. Right now friends and family and enjoying life with these mean more much more.
Cyrus Todiwala, Abergavenny Food Festival, Sat 17. Tickets: £12. Info: www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com