Imitiaz Qureshi – The first Indian chef to win a Padma Shri

Imitiaz Qureshi, aged 88+ is a veteran and celebrated chef from Lucknow who received Padma Shri in 2016 for his contributions to culinary art. He is the second chef to receive this honour after Tarla Dalal in 2007, and the first one among the full-time professionals. He has been associated with culinary art since 1950s and has also served Indian soldiers during the Sino-Indian War of 1962 while working with Krishna Caterers. He has been associated with ITC chain of restaurants since 1979 working at different locations and currently serves as Master Chef. He is credited to reviving Dum dishes as well as new experiences in Kababs and exotic Awadhi recipes. He has also cooked for royal families and has served Maharaja of Jaipur.

Imitiaz Qureshi was born in the village of Kakori, 15 km from Lucknow in 1931 into a family of chefs, and he joined his brother-in-law’s catering service at the age of 9. He also worked with uncle during his initial days before he embarked on a journey of his own. Initially worked with Krishna Caterers serving Indian soldiers and Nehru at different occasions, he later worked in several local restaurants, hotels and eateries throughout 1960s and 1970s, and since he joined ITC in 1979 he has been associated with same group for past 4 decades. He has hosted many high profile official banquets often hosted by Prime Minister and President of India, and hence enjoys a celebrity status in the field of culinary art. From ‘a teenage bawarchi (cook)’ to Master Chef, he has come a long way.

Imitiaz Qureshi – Some interesting and unknown facts

1. He is a descendant of khansamas (cook) of the Mughal rulers and nawabs.

2. He was a state level wrestler during his younger days.

3. He once made 100 Kababs for M.F. Husain. He tasted them all and declared kakori kebab as his favourite.

4. He has feed many great politicians from Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to the latest Narendra Modi, apart from many leaders of foreign countries. He has also served Ambani family and many personalities belonging to corporate world.

5. During his younger days he used to write his secret recipes in paper bits, which he used to hide from other chefs.

6. Born into a family of chefs, he inherited the secrets of many traditional recipes from his ancestors. But he rarely shared them to others.

7. He owns 70 years of experience in this field, and ITC projected him as the number one Heritage Chef. ITC replicated the Dum Pukht model across the country, Qureshi had an important role to play in it.

8. He says that he turned well-disciplined after joining ITC, and till then he worked in ‘Dhabha’ style.

9. He has 7 children, and all of them are into same field and own many restaurants in India and abroad. Four of them run a food consultancy while his son Ishtiyaque runs the chain of Kakori House restaurants.

10. He was not well-educated, yet he is satisfied that he was able to provide education to all his kids.

11. A grand master chef of the Dum Pukht restaurants of ITC hotels, he now dreams to write his biography.

12. He is known for reviving and popularizing many royal dishes of Nawabs and Maharajas and also amalgamated the culinary delights of both. He prefers to stay in tradition, and may get angry if the original nature of a dish is tampered.

13. Imtiaz took several younger relatives under his wing and trained them with dum and other delicacies to carry forward his legacy. He mostly trained them in biryani and kebabs.

14. It’s strange that when he along with other Muslims cooked for Indian soldiers during 1962 war, many young Hindu soldiers hesitated to eat it. Later Nehru had to visit the battalion and advised them to move past these religious distinctions in the new nation.