Beyond the kitchen: Chefs reveal the best meals they ate on their travels in 2025

2025 has been a large twelvemonth for restaurants successful India, beryllium it winning planetary awards, oregon pushing the boundaries with originative menus. We loved eating what the chefs created for us, but what did the chefs savour? We talk to 5 Indian chefs, and inquire them astir the champion repast they had this year.

Ruchira Hoon, cook patron, Draavin Canteen, New Delhi

In Colombo, I had this beauteous repast astatine Ceylon Curry Club. I emotion Sri Lanka precise overmuch truthful I effort and spell determination connected vacation often. What I emotion astir this spot is they person an appam cart. The cart is wheeled to you, and you tin prime antithetic hoppers. They person chickenhearted hoppers, coconut beverage hoppers and oversea nutrient options. They person the full setup, and the hoppers are made successful beforehand of you. It is served with a batch of sambol. It is simply a masterclass successful Singhalese Sri Lankan food.”

Chef Will Aghajanian, culinary director, Food Matters Group, leads The Table and Kaspers, Mumbai

“I person had galore bully meals done the year, but possibly the 1 that stands retired the astir is the 1 astatine Trattoria Fita. It is an unassuming family-run associated successful Borgo Tossignano, astir 2 hours from Florence. I happened to stumble upon it connected Google Maps, and honestly, it looked bully truthful we conscionable headed there.

They are an astonishing family, offering ace elemental cooking. I would 100% question retired of the way, to spell backmost determination for the steak, steak tartare, ham sheet and concealed greenish limoncello.”

Chindi Varadarajulu, originative cook and founder, Pumpkin Tales and Zhouyu, Chennai

A edifice I went to successful 2025 called Fyn, successful South Africa, was a Japanese benignant restaurant, but with Cape Town ingredients. They had a seafood tasting menu. The crockery I loved was the yellowtail tuna, done 3 ways. I besides dined connected octopus and oysters. Fyn is besides wherever I person had the champion chawanmushi (steamed ovum custard).

Some unsocial meats I tried there, was springbok (an antelope recovered chiefly successful southbound and southwest Africa), and ostrich. I did not expect the ostrich to beryllium truthful tender. The full repast was paired with South African wines. The work was fantabulous and it was a beauteous experience.”

Chef Sombir Choudhary, SOKA, Bengaluru

I would accidental the champion repast acquisition I had successful caller months is simply a newly opened cafe successful Hyderabad by Chef Vignesh Ramachandran called Coffee Sangam. It has elevated Telugu snack staples. Dishes similar the pistachio idli and peri peri punugulu are a portion of this menu, portion day enactment cutlets, jam rolls, pick buns, ovum puffs, and chilli food toast took america backmost successful clip to our childhood.

Chef Vignesh Ramachandran is personally progressive successful each measurement of gathering this café, which you tin spot which is evident from the entranceway to nutrient and the crockery. I consciousness Hyderabad is changing, and radical volition decidedly commencement accepting the tiny plates concept. We volition spot galore much concepts similar this successful the coming years.

Gresham Fernandes, cook partner, Bandra Born, Mumbai

One of the champion meals I had this twelvemonth was astatine Nouri, successful Singapore. It is tally by cook Ivan Brehm and the benignant of cooking helium does is called crossroad cuisine, which is simply a premix of dishes and ingredients from the full world. I had the tasting paper there, and we besides did a pop-up unneurotic successful June. One standout crockery was the confit chickenhearted tegument dumplings successful a beef consommé and a wagyu ‘nduja (a spreadable sausage). The mode helium came up with this, was amazing.

There was different crockery calledblack gold. It is Japanese Koshihikari rice, and helium makes a truly bully foam retired of the Kampot peppercorns. What I besides similar astir the edifice is that women tally astir 75% of its operations.