Sanjay is the youngest son of Rafique and Helen Choudhury at the Taj Mahal, Bridport. Rafique and Helen introduced Indian cuisine to the town when they opened the doors of their restaurant on East Street in 1983! Sanjay (30) has been involved with the business all his life. He started to work in the restaurant doing whatever was required at 14 years of age and remembers folding napkins much earlier! He started full time in the restaurant after leaving Sir John’s Colfox Academy in 2011
Although he has spent the majority of his time working front of house, he has always taken an interest in the works of the kitchen and has spent much time over the years watching his mum, Helen, cooking her authentic recipes in the kitchen for the restaurant.
It was during Covid when all the chefs were on furlough that Sanjay found his passion and enthusiasm for cooking. He worked with Helen learning and preparing the dishes for the takeaway service that they still ran, and that he delivered to homes for free within the area. There is nothing in the kitchen that Sanjay cannot do from preparing the vegetables, rice and bread to cooking tandoori and curry dishes. He admits to loving the ‘heat’ of the kitchen and working at speed to create delicious dishes! As a ‘foodie’ he says he loves tasting and finding out how dishes are made and hopes to be able to spend time in India with a master chef to learn more about both traditional and contemporary Indian cuisine.
In the Moores Biscuits Cookery Theatre at the Melplash Show on Thursday 24 August at 10 am, Sanjay is going to show how easy it is to cook a simple curry at home. He will be cooking chicken tikka, pilau rice, a potato side dish and making a quick and easy base curry sauce that you can add your favourite veg, meat, chicken or fish to.