Our Chefs
Meet our chefs: Manveena and Chandeep who complement each other perfectly with one a master of taste and the other with a clear focus on health. The two are together a perfect team to create that well balanced meal, that both tastes good and is good.
Manveena Walia
Manveena Walia was brought up in the historical city of Amritsar in Punjab, a city renowned for its gastronimical delights. Between the culinary extravaganza of her town and the wonderful home cooked delights of mum’s kitchen, Manveena never felt the pull to pick up the spatula. The twist in story came when the girl fed on sheekh kebabs, fish tikkas and butter chicken found herself in an English country town away from home.
While, she enjoyed the serenity of the West country, she missed the tingling tastes from the streets of Amritsar. There started the cravings that led her to Indian restaurants all over the England to find that perfect curry. Nothing, however, came close to the treats from her mother’s kitchen. Craving for her favorite dishes, Manveena decided she had to the job herself. Today Manveena is the head chef at Guddi and Gikki and teaches lovers of curry, how to cook that perfect curry.
Chandeep Walia
Chandeep firmly believes that food should be fresh, healthy and nutritious. While, that sounds great from health perspective, Manveena will tell you how bothersome that can be. Very selective about eating out or ordering in, Chandeep cooks everything from scratch. In a house where food is prepared thrice a day, freshness cannot be over emphasised.
Freshness and health are the very basic fundamentals of Chandeep’s cooking and are also the driving force behind the Somerset Curry Club. He believes that a good meal is slow cooked with minimum use of oil and that food has its own rhythm which must be respected. Spices should be used to enhance flavours rather and should not be allowed to overpower the meal. The extraordinary element of his cooking is the use of locally available ingredients and his openness to integrate elements of other cuisines into his experiments with Indian food. He is an architect but a chef at heart!
