Cyrus Todiwala
OBE DL Chef Cyrus is a renowned published chef with tv accolades & a passion for his industry
Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL FIH is a chef, restaurateur, educationist, author and entrepreneur. Genial and down-to-earth, his accessible persona masks an encyclopaedic knowledge of food history and cuisine and many a sophisticated turn in the kitchen.
INSPIRING A GENERATION OF ASIAN CHEFS
In the early 1990’s, he immigrated to London taking with him his young family. Almost immediately, his culinary gifts and boundless energy impressed the food cognoscenti and helped to reshape Britain’s then limited expectations of Indian cuisine. He has since inspired a generation of Asian chefs, many of whom have gone on to open their own restaurants.
Cyrus is a staunch advocate of education and training; Café Spice Namasté was the first ever restaurant in the UK to win a National Training Award. He has personally mentored chef apprentices and provided work experience training for a number of student chefs. A Mr Todiwala’s Academy based at Royal Albert Wharf opened in 2021. Cyrus has written seven cookbooks, including the best-selling ‘Simple Spice Vegetarian’ published in March 2020. His line of hand-crafted, limited-edition condiments, oils, spice blends and sauces under the Mr Todiwala’s brand are increasingly coveted by professional and home cooks alike. In 2021, he launched Mr Todiwala’s At Home, limited-edition ‘cook at home’ food boxes showcasing Goan and Parsee cuisine.
Together with his wife Pervin, Cyrus runs four restaurants. Café Spice Namasté at Royal Albert Wharf is a 25-year-old institution and the longest running Michelin BIB Gourmand restaurant (‘good food, good value’). Two hotel restaurants bear his name: Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen at the deluxe Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, and Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen at the Lincoln Plaza London, part of the Hilton Curio Collection. Mr Todiwala’s Petiscos in Buckhurst Hill is a small neighbourhood restaurant located in the London-Essex border. Following a traditional boarding school education in Maharashtra, India, Cyrus decided on a road less travelled, completing four years of classical chef training in Bombay. He began his career as a hotel chef with the Taj Group, rising to Executive Chef of the sprawling Taj Holiday Village in Goa.
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