q&a with chef namita
Meet Chef Namita Kanuga, the creative force behind 'A Table for Ten'! With a dynamic background that includes finance at Citi Investment Bank and a culinary education at Leiths, Namita has journeyed from London's prestigious banks to Dubai's vibrant dining scene. Her supper club reflects this journey, artfully fusing Indian traditions with global flavors, offering a dining experience where each meal is a celebration of culinary innovation and heritage.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to become a chef?
Born and raised in England as a third-generation British Indian, I've always valued hard work, which took me from the London School of Economics to a career at Citi Investment Bank. There, I was introduced to the elite world of Michelin-starred fine dining—a sharp contrast to the Asian fusion and Indian cuisines that were just beginning to find their place in the early 2000s. This exposure ignited a passion to elevate and refine the traditional Indian dishes I grew up with, far beyond the usual offerings.
My culinary journey truly began when I traveled across Southeast Asia and South America, where I started experimenting with blending diverse cuisines and flavors. This exploration continued at Leiths, where I learned from top chefs and began creating unique dinner party menus for my colleagues at KPMG. This passion followed me to Dubai, where it blossomed into a career. I'm committed to demonstrating that culinary fusion enriches rather than confuses, bringing distinct cultures and flavors together at my dinner table.
Q: You recently started a supper club ‘A Table for Ten’. What inspired the concept and how do you blend Indian heritage with British influences in your dishes?
A table for ten was in the making as a concept ever since I can remember. I have always taken great pride in my title as the hostess with the mostess even when I was organizing tea parties for my dolls. I grew up in a home where we had north Indian food for dinner most nights, dhal, rajma, channe, sabji, roti, butter chicken, lamb curry, keema etc. I loved the flavours of Indian food – the spices and variety but was always drawn to the somewhat boring school dinners that felt a little more novel. This drove my initial interest in cooking where I would start to cook all the non-Indian food in the house and developed a real passion for baking. As I travelled more extensively across the globe, I started to experiment with fusing all these flavours together which you will see on my menu, for example butter chicken pie, mash and gravy with chimichurri, south Indian spiced fish and chips, rasmalai milk cake, masala chai bread and butter pudding, thai curry ceviche. Once I went to Leiths school of food and wine my food found its refinement. I have been hosting supperclubs in London and Dubai for my friends and family for years and it is their love and support that’s encouraged me to take my love for food, cooking and hosting to more people in Dubai.
Q: What is ‘A Table for Ten’s’ motto?
The ten in a table for ten stands for taste, experience, and nostalgia. Our motto is to come with an open mind and try everything once.
Q: What's the most rewarding part of running ‘A Table for Ten’?
Watching people enjoy, praise and appreciate my cooking is so rewarding and it gives me so much joy. I still let out a little “yay” when I see empty plates coming back and huge smiles at my dinner table each time I host. It never gets old and I am filled with tremendous gratitude for all the love and support people have shown a table for ten. I LOVE creating new recipes and designing new menus. I used to do this for weddings, other people’s dinner parties and events. Now I get to do it for my own little baby – a table for ten.
Q: If you had to describe your cooking style in three words, what would they be?
Fun, Flavour, Fusion
Q: Who are your culinary heroes?
Himanshu Saini, Manish Mehrotra, Nigella Lawson, A. Wong, Nisha Parmar, Dipna Anand, Jamie Oliver, restaurants like Coya and Roka continue to wow me with their creativity today.
Q: What’s your favorite breakfast food and why?
This is too hard for me to just choose 1 so it depends on my mood. If I am not counting calories then my go to is my mum’s onion parathas but I equally love a good old English Breakfast with the works, Sausages, Bacon, Hash Browns, Baked Beans, fried eggs. If it is a sweet breakfast then I love a French toast with peanut butter and chocolate with some maple syrup.
Q: What’s your go-to cooking anthem that gets you in the zone?
I love cooking with my music on at deafening volumes 😊 At the moment it’s “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter and God Damn by Karan Aujla and Badshah. My music taste reflects in my cooking too – fusion, a little bit of Pop, Jazz, Classical, RnB, Bollywood, Bhangra etc.
Q: What’s the funniest kitchen mishap you’ve ever had?
Once I used a baking tray to make some cookies but it wasn’t oven proof (super strange because it looked and felt just like a baking tray) and it melted all over my oven.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world for culinary inspiration, where would you go and why?
I have travelled extensively across the globe experiencing wonders like Noma and many other Michelin starred establishments to street side eateries. I would love to travel through India eating my way through different cities finding innovative ways to recreate dishes working and experimenting with a wide range of flavours.
Q: Favorite grocery item while shopping locally?
I love to shop for Yuzu. It is one of my favourite ingredients for both savoury and desserts. My go to is 1004 gourmet.
Q: What’s one thing about you that most people would be surprised to know?
I am a management consultant by day where my creativity comes out in my powerpoint with my clients.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time when you're not cooking?
When I am not cooking I am usually still thinking about food either food choices for that day, creating new dishes, exploring our next food inspired travel destination or eating. So food really does consume a lot of my free time 😊 So I love to workout with yoga and reformer pilates to burn all those calories. I am also a very hands-on present parent and love to spend time with my kids in my free-time.
Q: Can you share a quick and easy recipe that anyone can try at home to get a taste of your culinary style?
Sure! I love to blend lots of different flavours together. My Italian chaat showcases the kind of dishes I love to create. It is inspired by my husband whose family originate from Mumbai – a city in Indian famous for its street food especially chaat. Chaat is the name given to a variety of Indian street food snacks which are like an explosion in the mouth. Sweet, savoury, spicy and tangy with crunchy textures, all at the same time. The staple ingredients are yoghurt, sweet tamarind sauce and a spicy and tangy coriander sauce. I make mine with fried kale pakoras (Indian tempura) with an avocado and coriander guac to replace the yoghurt, basil pesto to replace the coriander chutney and pomegranate molases and tamarind sauce. I use pomegranate for garnish as you typically find in chaat but caramelise the sev (deep fried gram flour snack which adds crunch) with a little sea salt to balance the dish with the right level of sweetness.
Q: Where would you go for a dinner date in Dubai with the Mr.?
Reif and HLK by Reif. In fact I am going there on Friday.