The secret south Indian chef who should be on your speed dial

Chef Ajith is a Hyatt  legend with a regular following

Chef Ajith Kumar has been away from Kottayam for 30 years now, 11 of those spent in Delhi as the secret chef every Kerala food fan wants to know. He is not on social media but is on the speed dial of 100s of loyal and discerning customers who call him for a bite of his special Alleppey fish curry (with mango), or the fantastic Kottayam Egg Curry he does with a dash of cashew creaminess in the coconut, and even the addictive Chicken 65 with beer.

The chef is an old #hyatthotels hand and has spent a chunk of his career with various Hyatts. But it was at the @hyattregency in #Delhi that he gained his massive, albeit least talked about, following.

Now, at the @grandhyatt.gurgaon the NCR’s plushest hotel, all his followers have followed him here, including yours truly. They call him before visiting for brunches, dinners, even breakfasts, and the chef often abandons his weekly offs to come cook for loyalists.

“For the fish, I need a day’s notice. I make the Fish Curry is advance and keep it for 24 hours to let the sourness come through. For the rest, a few hours notice is enough if you come. I will have it ready,” he says.

At least one of my breakfasts at the Grand Hyatt Gurgaon is always reserved for Ajith’s glorious Appam stew and curries.