“Leap Of Faith” For The Love Of Mountains: A Candid Conversation With Chef Prateek Sadhu Of ‘Naar’

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If you haven't heard of 'Naar' yet, we would urge you to look it up right away. A culinary wonder nestled in the pristine surroundings of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh; this restaurant is a pioneer for the Indian Himalayan cuisine that has never been in the limelight before.

Boldsky got a chance to interview Chef Prateek Sadhu of 'Naar' fame, at The Leela Palace Bengaluru where the Chef hosted special dinners with his signature recipes as part of his multi-city culinary tour organized by Conosh in collaboration with The Leela Palace Hotels. Conosh curates extraordinary dining experiences in collaboration with industry leaders, world-renowned chefs and acclaimed restaurants.

Chef Prateek is a boy from the mountains. Born in Kashmir, he had to migrate with his family during the infamous Kashmiri Pandit exodus in the 1990s. He lived away from the hills thereafter and eventually built a career in food.

We couldn't help notice the intense love in his eyes when he said 'My love for the mountains was such that I always want to be back there' . One fine day he decided to take this leap of faith and put his heart and soul into building 'Naar' up from scratch.

Chef Prateek faced a lot of flak and genuine concern from his loved ones. While reminiscing about that tough time, he said "My closest friends were really concerned about this sudden shift, they thought my career would be over". As a Chef he had established himself well and was at his prime. To leave it all behind to pursue something like this was unheard of. But rest as they say, is history.

Chef Prateek had an innate ambition to present his rendition of Indian cuisine to the world. Prateek says "I can talk hours and hours about food from the mountains and the ingredients too but I don't want that. I want my food to do the talking." And that's exactly what 'Naar' has managed to do - bringing the Himalayan cuisine upfront in a way never witnessed before.

Chef Prateek has drawn inspiration from recipes across Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to create exquisite dishes as part of the courses served at 'Naar'. The ingredients are all sourced from the Himalayan region and the taste of each dish is sublime. Take the 'pine skewers' for instance. The smoked meat on these skewers transport one to a pine forest up in the hills. One bite is what it takes. The 'Neembu saan' served as a palate cleanser is a sophisticated take on the 'Neembu' (lime) with the 'Bhaang chutney' served in Uttarakhand. Or the 'Sunderkala', a delicious dish with lamb and 'timru' broth was apparently brought by the 'Bhutia' community to parts of Uttarakhand. 'Bhutias' are believed to have migrated from Southern Tibet to various Indian Himalayan regions spreading from J&K to Arunachal Pradesh.

Each dish in the menu has an interesting history and is intertwined with flavors that unite the Himalayan regions of India.

Chef Prateek says "I want to show the best of Indian cuisine to the world." We believe that 'Naar' is a sound that reverberates in the Global food universe, to cause noteworthy and 'scrumptious disruptions'.

Chef Prateek's dream is to be in a place like 'Mugaritz' someday. 'Mugaritz' is a stand-alone Michelin two-star kitchen in the countryside of Spain (one of the most exclusive restaurants in the world owned by the iconic Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz). At Boldsky, we sincerely believe that dreams do come true and that Chef Prateek may just bring 'Naar' to an epoch of Indian Culinary Prowess!