Meet the Chennai chef blending European techniques with Indian flavours

Flounder meuniere with caper chimichurri | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Dinner unfolded in little intervals at Chef Saikailash’s Homecoming supper club. Every few courses, Sai would step out of the kitchen to introduce the dishes, talk about the ingredients and offer a glimpse into the thinking behind the menu. He would spend a few minutes before heading back in, where nearly 30 covers awaited him. There was no elaborate kitchen brigade working behind him; much of the evening’s cooking was being handled by the chef himself. It was an unusual rhythm for a dinner service, but one that offered an intimate glimpse into the workings of a supper club. Crushed potato and mushroom | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Chef Saikailash is a Chennai-born chef who spent 13 years working in London’s restaurant industry before returning to the city earlier this year. Starting out as a kitchen porter, he worked his way up to head chef, holding senior positions at restaurants including Humble, Inca and Pirana. His experience spans British and European cuisines, Italian cooking, Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei cuisine and plant-based food. On a blustery, rain-soaked Chennai evening, with a cyclone warning looming outside, the room was full, the tables were buzzing and the seven-course menu offered a meeting of familiar Indian flavours like honey, cumin, cardamom, and betel leaves, and techniques gathered from around the world. This was Homecoming, Sai’s attempt to bring together two culinary worlds that have shaped him. “I wanted to cook my own food. When you work in a restaurant, it’s usually based on what they want. But I have a lot of knowledge across different cuisines, and I didn’t want to compromise on that. I wanted to do something around the cuisines I know,” says Sai, adding that he returned to India for his family. Chef Saikailash | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Back in Chennai, Sai spent months researching the city’s food scene and figuring out where he could carve a space for himself. “I did a lot of R&D on what was happening around Chennai. I went to Bengaluru and Coimbatore, met a couple of chefs who are in this field. I also went to a supper club with Chef Goku and volunteered to help him at one of his events. I was asking questions about how it works. That’s when I realise I should do something like this as well,” he says. Sai has drawn up three distinct supper club concepts, each exploring a different facet of his culinary experience. “Homecoming brings together European techniques and Indian flavours..” he says, adding that it pays homage to his roots in Chennai. It features dishes like watermelon feta tartare with a thaen mittai dressing, honey glazed carrots with whipped ricotta and tadka and more. Ajo blanco | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The second concept, Tour de Sai, takes diners on a culinary journey through Europe, one city at a time. Playing tour guide, Sai will explore a different European city each month through its food, offering diners an opportunity to experience its culinary culture without leaving Chennai. “It’s like travelling around a city with a chef and how that would be like,” he says. The third, Grassroots, is a five-course vegan tasting menu that explores plant-based cooking. Having previously worked in a vegan restaurant, Sai hopes to bring some of that experience to Chennai. “We’re still exploring, but we feel there’s a need to bring vegan food here. The kind of vegan food we’ve experienced is something Chennai hasn’t really seen. We want to see if there’s an audience for something like this.” he says. Cheesecake beeda | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement For Sai, the supper clubs are also an opportunity to establish an identity as a chef, something he feels he missed out on during his years working in London. Having spent years working his way through professional kitchens, leading teams and cooking to the vision of different restaurants, he now wants the freedom to explore his own. The response to Homecoming has only encouraged him further. “After all these 13 years of working with no recognition, and now coming back and doing all of this, getting so much positive feedback, it’s actually giving me the motivation to do more of this,” he says.Chef Saikailash will be hosting supper clubs every month. For updates, check @chefsaikailash on Instagram. Published - November 12, 2026 09:58 am IST