# Ranveer Brar

Ranveer Singh Brar (born 8 February 1978) is an Indian celebrity chef, television personality, author, restaurateur and actor. He is known as the host of several television food shows, and as a judge in MasterChef India, alongside fellow chefs Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna, Vineet Bhatia, Garima Arora, and Pooja Dhingra. After graduating from a hospitality institute in Lucknow, Brar stepped into the culinary career, now spanning more than nearly three decades.

## Early life

Born in Lucknow, India, into Jat Sikh family to Ishwar Singh and Surinder Kaur, Brar was inspired by the local Kebab vendors in Lucknow at a young age which led him to pursue his love for food. He did his schooling from HAL school Lucknow. His passion to learn the art led him to volunteer as an apprentice to one of them, Munir Ustad. Though his family initially resisted, they finally gave in, leading Brar to join Institute of Hotel Management, Lucknow, for a more formal initiation into the culinary world.

## Career (restaurants and associations)

Brar's career began with the Taj Group of Hotels, starting with the Taj Mahal Hotel, Delhi. A new adventure awaited him in Goa when in 2001, at Fort Aguada Beach Resort, he opened "Morisco" a seafood restaurant, "il Camino" an Italian restaurant and "Fishtail" a small open air barbeque eatery.
After his successful stint, he was back in Delhi in 2003, this time, as part of the newly opened Radisson Blu Hotel, Noida. Coincidentally, he also shot to fame as the youngest executive chef of his time in the country at the age of 25.
Fate beckoned him overseas when he left for Boston, Massachusetts at a friend's invitation. He and his team were inspired to open "Banq", a fine-dining Franco-Asian restaurant. Banq won numerous awards including the Best New Restaurant in the World by the magazine "Wallpaper". (The restaurant is now permanently closed.)
Following this, he was appointed Corporate Chef for the One World Hospitality Group, one of the oldest restaurant groups in Boston. A twist of fate however brought him back to India, this time to Mumbai, where he joined Novotel, Juhu Beach, as the Senior Executive Chef.
Chef Brar's flair for conceptualizing and curating menus and holistically, restaurants, led to his association with the MTV India chain of restaurants, launched by Viacom 18 consumer products wing. FLYP @ MTV, the first restaurant opened in Delhi in mid-December 2015, with the next launch in Chandigarh, and the third instalment in Mumbai fall of 2017.
Mumbai also saw the launch of Brar's premium patisserie called English Vinglish in the spring of 2016, featuring fusion Indian desserts, breads and bakes, which were all vegetarian.
Mumbai's fine-dining space soon welcomed Brar's all-vegetarian artisanal restaurant in Dec 2016, called TAG Gourmart Kitchen by Ranveer Brar, as well as the restaurant Mayura (now closed) in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada in 2017. Brar was responsible for the F&B conceptualization for the restaurants at the heritage property Alila at Bishangarh by Alila Hotels and Resorts He was brought on board Royal Caribbean International for curating gourmet Indian food on two of their cruise liners on their Singapore sailings. He also associated with Thomas Cook India for curating the menu for niche Indian travelers traveling abroad. Brar toured different cities in India alongside Mercedes-Benz India via the Ranveer Brar Culinary Academy, hosting cooking workshops and demos pan India, as part of the former's Luxe Drive Live campaign. In September 2023, Ranveer opened an Indian restaurant in Dubai Festival City Mall named Kashkan. The restaurant offers a pan-Indian menu that spans the length and breadth of the country, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

## Television and digital shows

Zee Khana Khazana / Living Foodz / Zee Zest
He has hosted various cookery shows on Zee Zest (formerly known as Zee Khana Khazana Channel and Living Foodz):
* Breakfast Xpress & Snack Attack
* The Great Indian Rasoi Seasons 1 & 2
* Home
* Health Bhi Taste Bhi
* Ranveer's Cafe
* Food Tripping along with Chef Gautam Mehrishi.
* Global Menu
* Northern Flavours - Meethi Masti
* Station Master's Tiffin - In October 2018, he hosted a unique travel and food show based on Indian Railways for Living Foodz
* Himalayas the Offbeat Adventure - In 2019, he hosted this landmark travel show covering lesser known places, tribes and cuisines across the Himalayas
Thank God Its Fryday - Zoom (Indian TV channel)
Brar has hosted Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Thank God Its Fryday in association with Philips India on Zoom (TV channel), where he visited iconic eateries across India and recreated his own versions of their famous dishes in the Philips Airfryer
Masterchef India
Season 7 of the show (2023) saw the return of Chef Brar as a judge along with Chef Vikas Khanna and first time judge, Chef Garima Arora. Chef Brar debuted as a judge in Season 4 (2014) MasterChef India along with chefs Sanjeev Kapoor and Vikas Khanna and appeared again in Season 6 (2020) with chefs Vineet Bhatia and Vikas Khanna
Sony BBC Earth
In the summer of 2018, he curated and presented Secrets Behind Food for Sony BBC Earth comprising three shows: Supermarket Secrets, Food Factory Supersized and Food Detectives.
Raja Rasoi Aur Andaaz Anokha - Epic TV
Hosted 2 seasons of a back to roots and explorative food show for Epic TV titled Raja Rasoi Aur Andaaz Anokha which saw him recreating food history and traditional recipes from across Indian regions set in an idyllic bungalow complete with traditional cooking implements
Colors TV
Featured as a Judge in a cooking based reality show on Colors TV (Viacom 18) called Rasoi ki Jung Mummyon ke Sung in November 2017.
Ranveer On The Road - Digital Series
Launched a new mini-video series on Twitter titled Ranveer On The Road, in July 2016, covering his culinary sojourn through Australia, Seychelles, Turkey and Thailand.
Maa ki Baat - Digital Series
Hosted a successful digital series on his social media channels titled Maa ki Baat He also has over 4.1 million subscribers on his personal YouTube Channel.
Home Made Love - Digital Series, TLC
The success of Maa ki Baat led to a similar televised series for TLC (TV network) India YouTube channel, presenting festival special recipes from homemakers across different cuisines.
You Got Chef'd - Digital Series, Gobble
Chef Brar has co-hosted Seasons 2 & 3 of You Got Chef'd by Gobble in association with Dewar's along with John Dewar's sons India brand ambassador Greg Benson. The show brings together celebs from the digital & reel world in a fun format, wherein they are challenged by Brar and Greg to complete 'tasks' to earn points and get Chefd
Modern Love Mumbai, Amazon Prime Video Ranveer Brar co-starred alongside Pratik Gandhi in one of the 6 stories, directed by Hansal Mehta. The episode centers around a gay couple finding their footing in a society that is not so welcoming of their relationship
Dum Laga ke India, Disney+ Hotstar Ranveer Brar hosted a show around famous Biryani spots in major Indian cities along with representative celebrities from those cities.
Thums Up Toofani Hunt, Disney+ Hotstar Chef Brar co-hosted a travel based food hunt show shot across different Indian cities, the show was streamed on OTT channel Disney+ Hotstar
Star vs Food Survival Season 2, Discovery Chef Brar embarks on a new journey for survival with famous Movie personalities in a quest to rough it out with food. The Show premieres on Discovery and Discovery+ on 9th Oct 2023
The Family Table, The Epic Channel Families that cook and eat together, stay together! That's the motto of Chef Ranveer's new show on Epic TV where he hosts celebrities and their families for fun cook-offs.

## Books

Chef launched his first book titled "Come Into My Kitchen" in summer 2016, an auto biography covering his journey from the streets of Lucknow, through Boston to Mumbai and his culinary adventures and memories in route. This was followed by a second book titled A Traditional Twist in association with Bertolli India, showcasing a myriad of recipes, both Indian and Global

## Mobile app

He launched his own mobile app at the beginning of 2019, in collaboration with Hungama Digital Media which is a repository of all his recipes, presented in text and visual formats.

## Restaurants

Chef Brar has established several notable restaurants including Morisco (Goa), which located at the Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa.

## Filmography
### Film

* The Buckingham Murders (2024)

### Web Series

* Modern Love: Mumbai (2022)

## Awards and recognition

Brar is an Honorary member at the James Beard Foundation and recognized by the same for his culinary contribution. He has received recognition for his contribution to various cuisines by several institutions such as AIWF, AICA, as also the Mayor of Boston. In addition he has also represented India at the WPF. He has handled banquets at the Rashtrapati Bhawan and at the Prime Minister's residence, plus cooked for several Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities, both in the US and India. Ranveer Brar has been associated with several brands in the capacity of culinary consultant and brand ambassador. Brands he has been associated with are - Mercedes-Benz India (past), Bertolli Olive oil (past), SunGold Kiwifruit in India marketed by Zespri International (past), Gadre Marine Export Pvt Ltd (past), Philips India Kitchen Appliances (current), Parag Milk Foods (current), Victorinox (Current), among others. Ranveer Brar was awarded 'Indian of the Year' for Chef and TV Host of the year 2017. He also received LFEGA ‘Food Entertainer of the Year’ for 2018. In 2021, Brar was awarded for Outstanding Contribution to the Food and Beverage Industry 2021 by Food Connoisseurs India Convention