#ELLEGourmetCoverStar: For Chef Gresham Fernandes, Time And Patience Are The Recipe For Success

Conversations with Chef Gresham Fernandes are never dull. There are pauses where he reflects on incidents past, jumps back and forth between topics, and often throws in a profound line with the casualness of someone who has been there, eaten that. In a way, his conversation is a lot like his cooking. There is context to the dishes; at times, a whiff of nostalgia, a complex amalgamation of flavours and textures that might seem odd on paper but come together beautifully on the palate. And the food is almost always delicious.

The Chef-Partner at Mumbai’s Bandra Born completes 25 years in the F&B industry next year – a journey which started as Chef de Partie at The Leela Mumbai in 2001 and was refined at subsequent roles in restaurants such as Salt Water Grill, Aurus, and Salt Water Café. His travels to Spain, Brazil, and Copenhagen further fuelled his creativity, inspiring innovative culinary experiences. Self-admittedly, one of the most gratifying experiences of his life remains the time he spent with the St Jude Project at Jude Bakery in Bandra, where their Doobious Dinners became famous for pushing the envelope and rediscovering ingredients and cuisines.

Being a trailblazer with his memorable dining experiences and challenging conventional culinary norms comes naturally to him. Yet, despite his achievements, “Gresh”, as his contemporaries call him, is as humble as they come. “I have a cupboard full of failures,” he states, noting that he has more failures than he has wins, but that doesn’t deter him. “At the end of the day, you’re a better person than you started out to be. So, it just makes sense,” he shares.

The learnings over the years have been many, and Fernandes has learnt to adapt to the changing landscape of gastronomy. “Say there were ten guidelines – three have remained static, but seven of those have changed over time and place,” he says. One of the significant changes, he believes, is the realisation that there is no right or wrong until one digs deep and explores the concept thoroughly. “But yes, you've got to figure out if something is tasty or not. That’s the main thing,” he maintains. Finding the context of the dish is paramount as well. “You might have a great dish on the menu, but does it fit the context? You have to find the emotion,” he says. The key, he believes, is to stay relevant to both the kitchen and the guests, without changing so much that people no longer understand the food.

Riyaaz Amlani once described Chef Fernandes as having “a rebellious spirit” to a publication — and he would know. The Founder and MD of Impresario Handmade Restaurants brought him on board at Salt Water Grill in 2004, and the two have collaborated on various projects, including Bandra Born, ever since. Ask Fernandes why he thinks Riyaaz thinks he is a rebel, and he shrugs his shoulders, adding that he is not sure in which context he said that. He, however, does reflect on some of the rebellious situations they have been in together. “Take Bandra Born, for instance. After 14 years of Salt Water Café, he just wanted to test the waters with a pop-up, and Manoj (Chef Manoj Shetty) and I immediately said yes. Even he was a little taken aback because we didn’t put up a fight but just decided to flip it and see what happens,” he states.

The three-month pop-up proved so successful that it led to the launch of Bandra Born as a restaurant in 2023. Within a year, it earned a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the country. Gresh, however, remains unfazed by the accolades. “There are places where people go for the chef or for his style. I’m not one of those guys. But what I learned from Riyaaz is that our vibe is always right,” he says. With its grungy street-style mood, graffiti walls, old school hip-hop music, and food that evokes a sense of nostalgia, yet entices with the promise of something new, Bandra Born clearly scores high on the ‘vibe-check’.

The Chef is a firm believer that in their industry, the longer one does the same thing, the better they get. “Everybody asks what the secret sauce is. I would say it’s time and patience, and that while you have the long game in mind, you also have to play some short games,” he says.

Fernandes’ own long game is a space which he has been dreaming of for the past decade or so – an intimate space where music, art, and food come together in harmony. “It would be a kid-friendly place, and people would be allowed to bring their dogs. It would be a space to cook and have conversations. It is a personal dream, and I want to build into it.”

Quick Fires: 

Kitchen Nickname: Gresh

Comfort Dish After A Long Day: Kaju Katli or Ras Malai

Favourite Ingredient Right Now: Leaf of Mexican Marigold

Favourite Drink: Beer

Food Trend You Wish Would Disappear: Slamming and smacking food on counters or plates – it’s a visual trend I’m not fond of.

Dream City To Open A Restaurant In: Kyoto

Favourite Song On Loop: Ordinary by Alex Warren

Favourite Movie: Fight Club, 300, Shawshank Redemption,

Your 3 A.M. Speed Dial Person: The two Ms in my life – Bandra Born’s Head Chef, Manoj and my wife, Marlene.

Editorial Director: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Digital Editor: Isha Mayer; Photographer: Meetesh Taneja; Stylist: Idris Nidham; Jr Graphic Designer: Radhika Trivedi (Cover Design); Set Design: Purnima Nath; Food Stylist: Nikhil Bendre; HMUA: Daniel Bauer Academy; Claire Carmelina Gil (rep by Anima Creatives) for Suvir; Creative production: Anushka Patil and Rishith Shetty; Assisted by: Aafreen Anjum, Ishan Sharma (styling), Sneh Lad (creative production), Vaishnavi Rana;  Production: Cutloose Productions.