I came to London in 1994. My dad visited me after two and a half years, ate at my restaurant and said, “Are you sure you want to live in this country?” I said, “What do you mean? I’ve done OK, I’ve got great reviews from people like AA Gill.” He said, “They’re English people, they’re very polite. They don’t say bad things about anyone, but I am an Indian and I’m your father – I can tell you what you’re doing wrong.” And he pointed things out to me. I think I was cooking like an Indian boy living in an Indian subcontinent. I had not adapted after coming to this country. I realised I hadn’t been cooking with the seasons.
Cauliflower and oranges were winter things to me. Even peas, for example, we get in winter in India. And I
