ASHISH KUMAR KINARA
Growing up in a military family in India, Ashish Kumar experienced life across many different parts of the country since his father was posted to various locations with the national army. It helped Ashish develop a profound understanding of the diversity of regional Indian cuisine and hunger for international culinary exploration. Coming from a family of accomplished cooks, his mother famously began a tradition of mastering the signature cuisine of that region. Ashish began his formal training with a Bachelor of Tourism Studies and then undertook an additional 3-year graduate degree Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Hotel Administration, he then spent 18 months in a Kitchen Executive Training Management training program with ITC Hotels. His first restaurant experience was in 2006 at the Westview Bar and Grill, in Kolkata, West Bengal. From there on he experienced rapid growth in the kitchens at 5-star luxury hotels across Mumbai, New Delhi, Agra, and Bangalore, before moving to Abu Dhabi in 2014 to become an Etihad Airways InFlight Chef. In 2015, he was appointed as Chef de Cuisine for Atul Kochhar’s Benares in Madri. He then went on to assist Greg Malouf with the opening of Zahira at The H Hotel Dubai before becoming Head Chef of Moombai & Co restaurant at The H Hotel in 2017. As Vikas Khanna’s chosen protégé, Ashish has been leading the team as Chef de Cuisine of Kinara by Vikas Khanna since 2019. After Kinara’s success, Ashish went on to open Ellora by Vikas Khanna at JA The Resort.
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