Surender Mohan

The Climb

Training at Catering College and Delhi University gave Surender Mohan the base for a kitchen career shaped by movement through rank and responsibility. The sequence is clear in the work: Chef de Partie at Hyatt Regency (1994–2001), then Sous Chef - corporate at The Leela Palaces & Resorts (2001–2002), then Sous Chef at Grand Hyatt (2002–2003). Each post extended the range of the brief, from section work to broader kitchen oversight. Since 2003, Surender has served as Corporate Chef - Indian Cuisine of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. That role places Indian Cuisine inside a long-running institutional frame, with continuity rather than churn. Since 2018, he has also been Executive Chef of Jamavar London and Culinary Director of Jamavar and Bombay Bustle, carrying that remit into London while keeping the wider kitchen direction in view.

Today

He is Executive Chef at Bombay Bustle in London, United Kingdom, and Culinary Director at Jamavar in London, United Kingdom. His distinction between the restaurants is explicit: “I view each restaurant as completely separate, and their menus are extremely different both in look and style.” One reads as rich, elegant and classical; the other as modern and slightly more playful. Surender Mohan’s approach is to preserve that distance, so the restaurants don’t collapse into a single voice.

Signature

Surender's signature dishes include dabba dal, Rose Rum Old Fashioned, and Raspberry Cheesecake. The range here is straightforward: dabba dal points to depth and comfort in the savoury register, Rose Rum Old Fashioned brings a more spirited bar-side note, and Raspberry Cheesecake finishes with a sweet, plated dessert line. Together they show a chef working across formats without losing control of the final sequence.

In Their Words “I view each restaurant as completely separate, and their menus are extremely different both in look and style.” “One is rich, elegant and classical, while the other is modern and slightly more playful.” Those lines read as menu architecture as much as description. The point is separation: clear identities, different looks, different cadence. The language is precise because the distinction has to be, if each room is going to keep its own register.

Recognition

His memory of food starts at home: “My first memory of food is “MAA ka haath ka khana”, which translates to hand cooked meal made by mum.” Before the job titles and the London appointments, there was home cooking and the discipline of flavour as something made by hand. Surender Mohan keeps that first reference point visible, even as the career moves through larger kitchens and broader responsibility.