tamarind

very average food ... nothing special about the place. also after ordering cocktails and dinner when ordered onionsstaffwas like this will be charged. i guess the way he said was not liked it's understood in london anything extra is charged ...

laughing stock! michelin chef is accused of using knorr chicken cubes to flavour his acclaimed dishes… even in vegetarian meals

• karunesh khanna admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour dishes

• the executive chef used knorr cubes in his vegetarian and vegan dishes

• revelations emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by an assistant manager who lost his job after he alerted bosses

by michael powell for the mail on sunday

published: 00:10, 23 june 2019 | updated: 00:39, 23 june 2019

his haute cuisine curries have delighted david beckham and charlize theron, but michelin-starred chef karunesh khanna has admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour his acclaimed dishes.

the executive chef of the upmarket tamarind chain of indian restaurants also allegedly used the knorr cubes in vegetarian and vegan meals but failed to tell customers that they contained meat, according to legal papers.

after sixstaffmembers complained, mr khanna – who trained at the dorchester, four seasons, the ritz and claridge's hotels – told one manager: 'guests don't need to know.'

 

his haute cuisine curries have delighted david beckham and charlize theron, but michelin-starred chef karunesh khanna has admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour his acclaimed dishes

the revelations emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by an assistant manager who lost his job after he alerted bosses about the use of the cubes.

the tribunal heard that when the row reached tamarind director fateh dhaliwal, he backed his chef and said: 'those members ofstaffneed to be phased out.'

mr khanna admitted he used knorr stock while working at tamarind kitchen in soho while the flagship tamarind mayfair restaurant was undergoing refurbishment last year, according to the documents.

assistant manager mafis ali raised concerns with a sous chef about the use of the stock on june 4 and asked that the correct ingredient information be provided to the waiters.

 

the executive chef of the upmarket tamarind chain of indian restaurants also allegedly used the knorr cubes in vegetarian and vegan meals but failed to tell customers that they contained meat, according to legal papers

but when mr khanna refused, mr ali emailed all the senior chefs saying that guests were being deceived about whether dishes were truly vegan or vegetarian.

he also raised concerns that the secret use of the knorr cubes meant that the dishes would not be suitable for strict muslims because the stock was not halal. the email was ignored, and on june 18 six members ofstaffconfronted restaurant manager shoaib malik and demanded that he speak to mr khanna.

but the top chef 'made it clear that he was not going to disclose the use of knorr chicken powder to guests', prompting mr malik to resign in disgust, the tribunal heard.

 

after sixstaffmembers complained, mr khanna – who trained at the dorchester, four seasons, the ritz and claridge's hotels – told one manager: 'guests don't need to know.' pictured: inside tamarind in london

 

mr khanna admitted he used knorr stock while working at tamarind kitchen in soho while the flagship tamarind mayfair restaurant was undergoing refurbishment last year, according to the documents

 

the top chef 'made it clear that he was not going to disclose the use of knorr chicken powder to guests', prompting mr malik to resign in disgust, the tribunal heard

mr dhaliwal made mr ali redundant two weeks after the bust-up. an employment judge has now ruled that mr ali was unfairly dismissed.

the judge said mr dhaliwal 'didn't want anyone interfering with kk's [karunesh khanna's] cooking as it was so important to fd [fateh dhaliwal] to have a michelin star chef for the refurbished restaurant'.

mr khanna still works for tamarind at its flagship mayfair restaurant, which reopened in december last year after a multi-million-pound refurbishment. a tasting menu, paired with wine, costs £114 a head.

fairly uninspiring looking restaurant from street level, all there is to see is a small reception area. we were warmly greeted here by friendlystaffwho took our coats and showed us downstairs to the restaurant proper. this was much plusher as would be expected given the area, and the service was very professional. the only minor criticism would be that the seating arrangements were such that it was quite difficult for the waiters to get to certain diners, meaning they had to lean across others. a bit of rearrangement of the furniture would help here. oddly, although we had booked for a table of four, we were shown to a large round table laid up for five or six, with a couple of place settings being then cleared away, but this left a large gap between two of us

my first michelin star restaurant.experience was not that bad.
the place had great ambience and the servingstaffwere friendly and helpful. the food kept arriving at appropriate intervals. the only negative i would say was the murg masala that we had was an it overcooked, otherwise brilliant meal. the meethi paneer was gorgeous, both me and my husband were trying not to lick the bowl clean. great place for a lovely evening meal.

went for a business dinner. the place looks so plain from the outside but inside is very nicely done.
thestaffwas very friendly and took great care of the table.
we had grilled chicken and lamb chops for starters. the meats were moist and juicy just like i like them.
main we all had different things. i had the hyderabadi lamb shank which was very good
others seemed to enjoy their selections as well.
sorry no photos at business dinners

came here 16th august for dinner. this place is amazing! the service is so good and it feels as though you are sat in your local indian. thestaffare so welcoming and really accommodating. the food is similar to what you would find in your local but a million times better. we ate what was recommended to us, and loved it all. this place is awesome! quite romantic too.

this is a beautiful indian restaurant in the heart of mayfair! we went downstairs and the decor was amazing.

we had a groupon luckily as the food was so expensive! thestaffwere really lovely and accommodating, always on hand when needed. they brought us a selection of lovely curries to share which tasted great! not michelin star quality but still nice.

i would return but only with a voucher, otherwise it works out too much for a meal out.

this lovely restaurant is fully deserving of its michelin star.

the service from the start is excellent withstaffhappily waiting to greet you upstairs before taking you down to the restaurant.

inside, the subdued lighting and atmosphere were perfect and the restaurant was full which is to be expected.

the waiter suggested the dawat tasting menu which at £56 each is very reasonable.

the food was outstanding and to quash any misconceptions, it does taste amazing. the main dishes could be found at any indian restaurant, however each one was cooked and presented perfectly and just seemed more 'refined'. what really impressed me was the tenderness of the meat in both the chicken and lamb dishes, yet nothing seemed over cooked.

the service was amazing. thestaffwere always there if needed, however i didn't feel they were overbearing and we were not rushed in any way.

i would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends.