Feature: A prolific chef and his new venture LUPA
From strength to delectable strength
Chef Manu Chandra. Bengaluru. January 2023. Photo Credit: Nishant Ratnakar.
We all know of prolific authors/artists/musicians but Bangalore has the happy distinction of having one very prolific chef, the uberpopular Chef Manu Chandra. Having burst onto the local food scene in 2004 with his Olive Beach, the past years have seen Chef Manu helming pleasing and profitable eateries both in the casual and fine dining segments, like Olive Beach, LikeThatOnly, Monkey Bar, Toast & Tonic, Cantan, Fatty Bao, and now his latest venture, Lupa.
And each time he embarks on a new culinary adventure, he does so with unparalleled confidence. “So here I am, jumping out of that plane again….secured by the ballast of proven success and hard-won experience, a wry sense of humour and still no greys,“ was the way the chef introduced Lupa to the city.
That ballast he spoke about? It`s a solid one. Having trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, he then went off to apprentice with Michelin-starred Chef Eyvind Hellstrom at Bagatelle in Norway, well before Nordic cuisine became a thing. Back in India, Chef Manu is credited with opening the first gastropub, getting Asian dining to trend like mad, reviving India`s taste for gin, championing Indian produce, millets for one, in progressive – and flavourful — ways. He is also the man behind the artisanal cheese brand, Begum Victoria, which most Bangalorean turophiles swear by.
Young Achiever, Best Young Chef, in the Top Ten Chefs list, Most Admired Chef, Fortune India magazine’s 40 under 40, Class of 2016… the plaudits came fast and thick, and were duly notched on his belt in rapid succession.
This really is one busy man. He is involved with an initiative called The Social Kitchen which aims to bring families back to the kitchen and table; is the founding curator and on the advisory board for the culinary arts discipline at the Serendipity Arts Festival; is a strategic investor and partner in a plant protein company with a meat-alternate line, Shaka Harry; an investor and partner in Chota Hazari Spirits, a company focused on small-batch spirits, a gin from which company is expected to hit the shelves by end-2023. He was at the 75th anniversary edition of the Festival de Cannes in 2022, cooking the inaugural dinner for Indian luminaries, as well as running a unique catering offering with Single Thread at the official India Pavilion there.
Chef Manu recently started Single Thread Catering, a bespoke catering concept, which is just one arm of his Manu Chandra Ventures, co-founded by Chandra and veteran hospitality professional Chetan Rampal. The other verticals of this ambitious enterprise include Savaa Ser a restaurant arm, Holy Duck a digital and video production studio, as well as Duality Concepts, a management and consultant company. Says the chef about his many experiments, “The canvas is bigger and the ambition, audacious. “ And with each new project, he holds the lines of TS Eliot firmly in his mind: “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
As for his latest undertaking, it`s named after the mythological she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus, the founders of modern Rome. Why name an eatery Lupa you ask, and the chef has a crisp reply. “ Lupa is a hat-tip to the mother of the modern city of Rome, inspired by both her untameable spirit and her gentle nurturing side.“
Lupa then, is all about European food in a charming Tuscan setting right in the heart of Bangalore cantonment. The menu runs the gamut of dishes like a Neapolitan stew with fish, prawns, clams, squid, chilli peppers, tomato, oregano, and lemon served with grilled focaccia; Corzetti pasta, a unique stamped fresh pasta with a wild mushroom ragu, topped with crispy garlic and toasted walnuts; Arroz de Pato, a special version of Portuguese Duck Rice where the rice is cooked with aromatic duck stock, spices, cured duck breast and chorizo; Mustard and Chilli Marinated sea bass which is oven- roasted, served with tapioca risotto, roasted vegetables, leek-basil cream and herb salad . And much, much more, for meat-lovers, vegetarians and vegans alike. The restaurant also has a bar stocking some uniquely signature cocktails, as well as its own gelato lab, a coffee bar and a salumeria.
The Bangalore-based chef went national then global, a long time ago. His cooking styles have kept evolving with time, but his fundamental premise remains the same. He describes it thus: “I focus on freshness and constantly innovate, never losing sight of that original focus.“
Chef Manu has gone on record to thank Bangalore for providing the ballast for his various culinary enterprises. Bangalore on its part, remains deeply appreciative of the man`s ventures and deeply grateful for his paced taste- bomb explosions. This then, is a relationship set to last.
This appeared in the Sunday Express Magazine of 5 March 2023.
Related Links:
Feature: Likethatonly Restaurant Review
Feature: Olive Beach Restaurant Review
Feature: Monkey Bar Restaurant Review
Sheila Kumar • March 7, 2023