About Gary's Apprentices
Bushra Akram
Being part of this programme was a truly amazing experience - I absolutely had the time of my life. The Indian cuisine has been such an eye-opener to me. I’d always thought of Indian food in a very narrow way, but I now I know there’s so many layers and levels to Indian food and each region has something special to offer…
Food has always been an incredibly important part of my life. Growing up, mealtimes in the Akram house were a huge occasion- in fact anything related to food was, and still is, and that’s a tradition that’s still very much alive with me.
I picked up so many new techniques, flavours and spices (quite literally- I brought home a sack of Kashmiri chillies!), and have since been incorporating all these new elements into my cooking. I’ve always wanted to take my cooking further and being part of the programme only confirmed that to me.
My ultimate long term dream is to own and run my own restaurant, and now I’m ever more determined to achieve that goal.
Scott Davis
Before doing Rhodes Across India, I could write what I knew about Indian cooking on the back of a matchbox! I grew up in rural South Wales, and although we had a local Indian restaurant, it was geared more to the Welsh palette than anything else. Think chips with everything, or half chips, half rice!
Being part of Rhodes Across India was such a fantastic experience and what I learnt was second to none. Having worked previously with Thai and Japanese food I knew a bit about Asian flavours, but I was really surprised by the diversity of Indian food.
It was amazing to see how the Indian dishes we make in England are so different to what’s made out there. Take korma for example, the colour is roughly the same but that’s it - the two flavours are entirely different!
I didn’t expect to learn as much as I did, but it’s made me more confident with a lot of ingredients. I now know you that often you need to use a lot of oil to get the flavour out of spices; I think beforehand I used to burn them.Kalwant Sahota
Cooking over a log fire, under the stars with mentor Jaisal Singh was just incredible. The only drawback was that we were cooking goat and I’m a vegetarian! However, the Gujarati and Marwari food is all vegetarian - in those regions I never went hungry!
As a Punjabi family we always cooked a lot of rich traditional food from the north. Cooking was something we did as a family, the men and women. When I moved out I took with me the principles of Punjabi cooking and added my own touches, I also decided to become a vegetarian.
I’d been to India a few times before making the programme but I hadn’t travelled extensively. On this trip I experienced so many different regions and regional styles of cooking, however it was still the Punjabi cooking that stood out the most for me. The techniques are so basic but the results are just incredible.
The mentors taught me a lot about Indian spices – which ones to use and how to make the most of them. It’s something I’ve been able to pass on in the cookery classes I teach in west London. Whereas these classes are targeting local people, Rhodes Across India has inspired me to register my own company to take the classes a step further.