Jaipur-born and raised, Chef Namha Dixit’s journey began from humble beginnings following her grandfather to pursue medicine with plans to study at the prestigious Stanford university in California but destiny took her on a divergent path. Her fondest memories of food began from family traditions of big dinners and gatherings where she grew closer to her family, making her realize food was always the glue.
Being brought up in a small city like Jaipur although a globally known tourist and travel destination, fine food and ingredients are rather limited in nature there.
Photo courtesy: Namha Dixit
Her culinary journey began 8 years ago when she pursued a bachelors degree in Culinary Arts at Institute of Hotel Management in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The first taste culinary excellence came after working at The Rambagh Palace, know as one of the best hotels in the world. There were strenuous instances during her time at the palace kitchen where she was not accepted for wanting to pursue butchery, perhaps a concept too radical for a kitchen that remains a male bastion when it came down to female chefs.
After the global pandemic in 2020 hit, Namha didn’t succumb to it but hit the curveballs and started her own business as a cloud kitchen owner. This lead her to create dishes such as sushi and gourmet burgers that was what Jaipur had seen before making it perhaps a daring business concept. As a result, she achieved recognition by Mrs Rashmi Uday Singh, one of the most credible and known food critic across globe, a journalist and a Chairperson for Asia’s best restaurants.
Photo courtesy: Americano Bombay by John McClements (via YouTube)
She went on to work at some of India and Asia’s best restaurants such as Masque and Americano in the city of dreams, Mumbai. That’s when she came to realize there was nothing more she wanted to do than fine dining food where she worked under India’s top chefs like Chef Prateek Sadhu and Chef Alex Sanchez making a name for herself with her work ethic and dedication. There were still instances when she found herself on difficult days specially as a young female chef in a male dominated kitchen, with stubborn passion to grow, she kept her foot down with a head held high with anything they put her through. The ardent culture of long hours, hard work and confined to most of her waking hours in a hot and noisy environment was a life she become happily accustomed to, perhaps thrived on it.
Photo courtesy: Namha Dixit from Masque restaurant
Namha, while working as a culinary consultant for a restaurant in a heritage hotel, Narain Niwas in her hometown, decided she need a harder work environment. From there on she moved her life about 13,000km away in the chase of excellence and growth. She ended up in the culinary capital of the United States, San Fransisco in California where she became a chef at a renowned restaurant Two Michelin starred restaurant, Birdsong.
California changed the way she looked at food completely, coming from a state with less access to vast varieties of food, she found herself in a state known for the finest produce in the world. Her experience at Birdsong and her mentors taught her the value of discipline and respect for where our food comes from. Her devotion towards her job and her level of attention to detail did not go unnoticed, she was recognized as an excellent worker especially being youngest in the kitchen. “If you’re not disciplined, you cannot absorb any pressure which means you cannot truly deliver” as she stresses upon the importance of being focused in the kitchen.
Photo courtesy: Birdsong restaurant (@birdsong_sf)
Namha’s drive for her work ethic is that wishes to be the best whoever she works, no matter how much hard it comes with, she firmly believed there is no other way. This is a true testament for everyone for whichever field if not hospitality that they wish to pursue success in.
