Biting Off More Than I Can Chew

What happens when a half-Indian, half-German-Jewish biochemical engineer ditches a PhD, jumps into restaurant kitchens in 1980s New York and decides to shake up the food scene in Bombay? You get Rahul Akerkar—and one hell of a story. Biting Off More Than I Can Chew is the unapologetically honest, sharply funny memoir of one of India’s original culinary rebels. Long before celebrity chefs were a thing, Akerkar was feeding Bombay’s curious and cool bold, ingredient-driven cooking, with warm, no-nonsense hospitality. From the launch of his first catering company in his mum’s kitchen to building India’s first truly global restaurant, Indigo, which made it to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2007, and his eventual departure from it, this book captures the madness, magic and misfires of a life spent chasing flavour. Expect celebrity dinners, mafia diners, missed opportunities, wild comebacks (hello, Qualia and Ode), and the kind of behind-the-pass stories that rarely make it to print. Whether you’re a foodie, a dreamer or just someone who’s ever wondered what it’s like to really run a restaurant, this is your backstage pass. Set against the backdrop of India’s rapidly evolving dining culture, this memoir is rich with irreverent anecdotes, a few hard-won lessons and dishes that made India sit up and take notice. It is the story of a man who kept biting off more than he could chew—and figured out how to swallow it all anyway.