# Vivek Singh (chef)

Vivek Singh (born 6 May, 1971) is an Indian celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality known for his Indian cuisine. He is the CEO and Executive Chef of five London-based modern restaurants. Singh is a regular face on BBC's Saturday Kitchen, and has been featured on television shows including Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Nation, At Home with Rachel Allen, NDTV Good Times – Will Travel for Food and My Kitchen Rules UK.

## Early life

Singh was raised in a coal-mining community in Bengal, India, where his father worked as an engineer. He attended St. Patrick’s Higher Secondary School in Asansol. Despite expectations that he would pursue engineering, he decided to become a chef.
Singh studied at The Institute of Hotel Management (New Delhi) from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, he was selected for the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, where he trained at the Maidens Hotel (Delhi) and Oberoi flight services.

## Career
### Early Culinary Career in India

After completing his training in 1995, Singh was appointed to The Oberoi flight services in Mumbai. He later worked at the Oberoi Grand (Kolkata) and took over the running of Gharana, a restaurant specializing in royal Indian cuisine.
In 1998, he became the Indian chef at Rajvilas (Jaipur), where he met PR professional Iqbal Wahhab. Their discussion on applying French cooking techniques to Indian cuisine led to the establishment of Singh’s first restaurant in London.

### Expansion into London’s Culinary Scene

Singh co-founded The Cinnamon Club in London in 2001, marking his first venture into modern Indian dining in the UK. He has since opened several restaurants under the Cinnamon brand.
In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick for his contributions to Indian cuisine in the UK.

## Restaurants
### The Cinnamon Club

In 2001, Singh opened his first Indian restaurant, The Cinnamon Club in London. The Cinnamon Club is awarded as one of the "Best Indian Restaurants" by SquareMeal food guide in London, UK.

### Cinnamon Kitchen & Anise

Food critic and writer, Fay Maschler, called Vivek Singh "a gifted cook creating striking and exciting dishes" when he opened his second restaurant Cinnamon Kitchen & Anise in 2008.

### Cinnamon Soho

In 2012, Singh opened his third restaurant, Cinnamon Soho, and published his fourth cookbook, Cinnamon Kitchen: The Cookbook. Guy Dimond, a food critic at Time Out, remarked, "Singh is a master of flavor" and "highly innovative".

### Cinnamon Bazaar

The restaurant, inspired by the hustle and bustle of bazaars in antiquity and of modern days, opened in 2016 in Covent Garden. In 2017, it gained a Bib Gourmand from Michelin for "[offering] both high-quality food and good value for money [...]"

### Cinnamon Kitchen Oxford (closed permanently in 2021)

In 2017, this fifth restaurant part of the Cinnamon Collection opened its doors. It is Singh's first restaurant in the UK that is located outside of London.

## Public appearances

In 2006, Singh was invited to Hangar 7 in Salzburg, Austria. Singh is the only Indian chef to be invited to Hangar 7, where he worked side by side with Chef Eckart Witzigmann and Roland Trettl.
In 2007, Singh helped recreate an Indian-inspired sausage based on Daljit Singh's childhood memories.
In 2011, Singh was invited to Gourmet Abu Dhabi to showcase modern Indian cuisine. He was also invited as a guest speaker on Maharaja Express "A passage through India" with Allan Jenkins.
The following year Singh was invited to New York City for a week-long pop-up event at Desmond's NYC.

## Charity work

In 2008, Singh became an ambassador for Wooden Spoon, a rugby charity that offers help to underprivileged children. Singh collaborated with former rugby union stars Jason Leonard, Martin Offiah, Lee Mears and Nick Easter to raise funds through an event called Scrum Dine With Me.
Singh has worked with Action Against Hunger since 2002, and for the past four years has been hosting an annual Diwali Charity Event in their aid. He also supports Find Your Feet and helps out with yearly campaigns to raise awareness through the Curry for Change campaign. Singh works with The Prince's Trust charity, Mosaic Network, which aims to inspire young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. Other charities include the Asian Restaurants Skills Board, which aims to attract new talent to the Indian restaurant sector through college courses, work experience placements and apprenticeships.

## Controversy

In 2008, Singh was approached by Virgin Media to create the world's hottest dish to commemorate the launch of their Bollywood movie channel. Singh's entry caused quite a controversy as several curry house owners claimed that their curry was "the hottest". Singh responded by saying that although his dish made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, there is no real way to measure whose curry is the hottest, as it depends on the taste buds of the individual eating it. The dish became known as The Bollywood Burner.

## Personal life

In May 1997, Singh married Archana in Bilaspur, India. They have two children together: Eshaan (born October, 2001) and Maya (born July, 2006). Singh lives with his wife and two children in South London.

## Cookbooks

* The Cinnamon Club Cookbook. Absolute Press. 2003. ISBN 9781904573012.
* The Cinnamon Club Seafood Cookbook. London UK: Absolute Press. 2007. ISBN 978-1904573418.
* Curry, Classic & Contemporary 3rd book by Vivek Singh. London: Absolute Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1904573883.
* Walker, Chrissie (2012). Contribution in Capital Spice. London: Absolute Press. ISBN 978-1906650728.
* Cinnamon Kitchen The Cookbook by Vivek singh. London: Absolute Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1906650803.
* Singh; Yaseen, Vivek; Nagaraj, Abdul; Hari (2011). Cinnamon Club: Indian Cuisine Re-invented by Vivek Singh, Abdul Yaseen & Hari Nagaraj. India. ISBN 978-8184001143.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Singh, Vivek (27 January 2015). Spice at Home. London, UK: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781472910905.
* Singh, Vivek (2017). Indian Festival Feasts. London, UK: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781472938473.