Chef Ajit Bangera on Why Food Must Keep Evolving

For Chef Bangera, monotony is the enemy. “Monotony kills me. I can’t do the same thing again and again. That’s one of the reasons I need to keep innovating.” Innovation, however, isn’t about ignoring the past—it’s about reframing it. He reflects on the debate around authenticity with a matter-of-fact sharpness: “What do you mean by authenticity? Something that was tried and tested at one point, someone did it the first time. At that time, it was not authentic. Every chef has the right to evolve, to change, to make it better. Food is evolving all the time and it will keep evolving.”

This belief is embodied in FIRO’s playful menu. Take the yoghurt chaat that arrives at the table, a familiar comfort reimagined with finesse; or the dosa tacos, a clever twist that instantly sparks curiosity. “If I didn’t like something, I wouldn’t put it on the menu,” Chef says firmly. “For me, they are all good dishes. But eventually, the customer has to tell us. He is the one who is coming and paying anyway.”

The star of the dessert course—ghee ice cream—carries the same philosophy. Familiar, yet surprising. Rooted, yet entirely new. It is this balance that defines FIRO.

Behind these dishes lies a toolkit of techniques that span the globe. “We use all possible techniques that we know of, or anywhere in the world that they do,” says Chef Bangera. “For large cuts of meat, sous-vide is excellent—it keeps the meat moist and juicy with minimal weight loss. We stir-fry, steam, fry, pan-fry… everything that adds value to the dish.” He pauses, almost regretfully. “Only wood fire, we don’t do, because we don’t have the facility. But that too is a beautiful technique.”

If the food is inventive, the process behind it is rigorous. For Chef Bangera, perfection is a pursuit learned from unlikely places. “I had a great learning from American theme parks,” he says with a smile. “The details there—the way they create an experience—are perfection. It taught me to think about small details. If a dish makes your fingers oily, we must give you a cloth to wipe them. If food is served hot, it must reach the guest hot. If it looks beautiful in the kitchen, it must also look beautiful when the waiter brings it to the table.”

This obsession with detail extends into how the kitchen team learns. “I make my staff come and eat. In the kitchen, they don’t know what’s happening outside. But when they sit here and wait for food, they understand what the guest feels. It’s important that even the back of house experiences the front of house.”

Chennai, according to him, is ready for this kind of food. “For the longest time, people thought this city wasn’t open to change. But people here are well-travelled, they are open, they are willing to pay for quality. You just have to give them value for money,” he says, recalling how he once challenged the city’s banquet price ceiling when he opened ITC Grand Chola. “People told me no one would pay beyond ₹1800. We started at ₹2400. And people paid—because they got something better.”

At FIRO, this courage shows up in every plate. The mushroom pâté, earthy and decadent, sits comfortably alongside classics reimagined with flair. Palak with burrata, one of Chef’s experiments, surprises guests not only in taste but also in the way it is meant to be eaten—layered and enjoyed in a certain order. “It makes all the difference when the team explains the dish,” he insists. “We write everything down for them to memorize, because notes matter. But execution is tricky when the pressure is high. Still, the effort counts.”

Even after four decades in the industry, his hunger to learn hasn’t dimmed. “My biggest learning is that you have to seek out good food. Something can always be better than what you’ve done today. You go to restaurants, eat, understand, and pick up ideas. You make them your own. It’s a continuous process. If you are static, then you are finished.”

As for what lies ahead, his vision for FIRO is clear but cautious. “I would like to see FIRO in a couple of major cities in the next two years. But first, we must establish ourselves here. Signs are good, but it’s too early to say.”

At FIRO, one walks away with the sense that this is not just another modern Indian restaurant—it is a canvas where food evolves, where details are sharpened, and where a chef’s restless pursuit of excellence finds its stage. As Chef Bangera puts it simply: “You try different things. If it works, it comes on the menu. If not, you make it better. The journey never ends.”

At FIRO in Chennai, you will find yourself at a table where Indian food is familiar, yet startlingly new. At the centre of this transformation is Chef Ajit Bangera. That pretty much answers why the food at FIRO tastes the way it does and manages to surpass all expectations with respect to appeal or taste.