Chef Megha Kohli Believes Clean Eating, Sourcing Local Food Can Help Reverse Climate Change

"Climate change is a big motivation for me as a chef to promote such thoughts and values and I believe in cook simple comforting food, that has zero waste and promotes sustainability," says Megha Kohli of Lavaash By Saby. At just 30, Megha is among the few young chefs in the country, who have a mission and are very vocal about a cause.
"Even climate changes can be reversed with responsible, green and clean eating," says Megha. The young chef is extremely passionate about preserving the environment by using only local produce and promoting regional Indian cuisine. "I like travelling to different parts of the country to learn about food, cooking techniques, using local ingredients to the maximum and educating people about it," she says.

BCCL

Megha who heads the team at celebrity chef Sabyasachi Gorai's flagship restaurant began her culinary journey with a degree from the Oberoi Center of Learning and Development, the chef worked with the Oberoi Hotels for a while before moving on to Olive restaurant where she met her guide and mentor Chef Saby.

With 12 years of experience, Megha is now head chef at Lavaash and a vociferous supporter of traditional Indian foods and ways of cooking. She makes no bones about the fact that she has a huge responsibility in her field of work, as a chef, to reduce carbon footprints and do everything that she can, to make it possible. The menu, at her restaurant, usually focuses on seasonal local produce and tries to incorporate regional flavours and ingredients.

Chef Megha Kohli

The current food trend, which Megha subscribes to is a return to one¡¯s roots. "Anything that you've grown up eating and is native to the soil of your hometown is what is good for you. How can anything frozen, imported or processed food, compare? Because of healthy local ingredients, it is good for your overall health and there are no two ways about it," says the chef who uses a lot of ghee in her cooking, as she says its much healthier than other mediums.

Megha's love for cooking stemmed from childhood when she would see her mother rustle up delicious meals, with whatever ingredients there were on hand. "There was no special shopping or list of ingredients needed; basically none of that fancy stuff that people imagine, one needs to cook great meals. My mom was like a superwoman in the kitchen and always my hero, my inspiration," she says. The other person she credits as her inspiration would be Chef Dominique Crenn who, she says, has set a new benchmark for women chefs and is equally rigorous about promoting local foods. And of course, she doesn't fail to mention her mentor Chef Saby, who helped her grow and come into her own. "I learn from him every single day," she says.

BCCL

About her campaign to reduce food wastage, use healthy local foods, in her restaurant and otherwise educate and advocate their use in giving talks in seminars, conferences and also display on social media, as a tool for change, she says, "We have unique foods all over India, that have super powers and contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients, like the humble mustard oil, amaranth leaves, black rice, sticky rice, various herbs and seeds. We should celebrate that uniqueness and cook more of such foods."

She¡¯s very involved with her whole team and says that cooking food is an emotional process that can either bring value or take away from the food. She also believes in educating and informing her guests about the specific foods they may eat in her restaurant. To promote various Indian cuisines, they have had food festivals of Bihar, West Bengal among others in the restaurant and sourced all food material from the places of origin. "We will very soon have an Uttarakhand food festival where we will serve all the popular delicacies from that region and everything will be procured from there, to give it that authentic touch," she adds.

Other than cooking, she loves to travel and learn about new cuisines and cultures. "I want to travel to Kerala, Mangalore and even Northeast India to learn more about their food. I sense the interest in customers and want to provide them experiences that will have them eating local, healthy and coming back for more, since we live in an era where being health conscious is very commonplace.¡±

For the future, Megha believes regional food will be the answer to living a healthy life. "It is in tune with whatever chefs like me are doing currently. Eat local, stay healthy is the mantra," she says. Regional food is getting popular and most people are giving it a much-needed impetus by choosing such cuisine. "This is clearly the future and even latest research and surveys like the Godrej Food Trends report 2020, says regional and locally sourced foods are the future," says the chef, who feels her small efforts and that of countless others in her field, are finally bearing fruit.

The author is a lifestyle journalist based in New Delhi.