“The right attitude is a quintessential ingredient for success.”

Chaitanya attributes his passion for cooking to a number of teachers through his life but he derived the early inspiration at home from his father. One of the most important lessons Chaitanya learnt was that “The experience of cooking is as important as the ingredients of the dish.  "People are nostalgic about food and the style I have inculcated is to give someone the comfort factor of being at home”, he says - probably the reason why the patrons at café Prato keep coming back for his signature dishes.

Chaitanya idolises the legendary Marco Pierre White, and fusses over the smallest details when in his chef's hat. Outside work, Chaitanya is a passionate painter. Ask him, “if not a chef, then… a painter for sure”, he says. His work hours make it difficult to spend time at home but his wife and one year old daughter give him enough reasons to achieve the a healthy work life balance. When alone, he loves to unwind in the solitude of a quiet, long drive to refresh his mind with new ideas.

In the constantly evolving culinary world, Chaitanya  feels that guests have a well-travelled palette, with an appetite for authenticity. While he is partial to all things conventional, Chaitanya loves to experiment by injecting local flavours in the clichés to create a ‘twist’ and pleasantly surprise his diners. 

“Guests travel miles for a great experience and I definitely want them to remember the taste of my food forever. It is the ultimate compliment for me”, he says with a knowing smile.