By now you know that the name of the newest restaurant in Delhi that everyone's talking about, Raga, is derived from RA (Chef Rydo Anton) and GA (Chef Gaggan Anand).
For Chef Rydo Anton, Raga represents his most challenging project yet under the Gaggan umbrella—and an opportunity to bring new ideas, standards and kitchen culture to India. His journey has long been shaped by a curiosity for different cultures and cuisines, from growing up across countries to his first introduction to Indian food in Malaysia. Today, his culinary explorations continue in India, even as his latest restaurant venture, in partnership with Gaggan and Zorawar Kalra, has quickly become the toast of the country, with tables sold out for more than a month already.
Read on for excerpts from our tete-e-tete with Chef Rydo Anton.
Chef Rydo Anton: Through 13 or 14 years of experience working with Gaggan, I’ve learnt that you just have to keep cooking, researching and developing new ideas. This gives me a boost of confidence and a sense of comfort.
I'm Indonesian and I've never lived in an Indian household but sometimes being an outsider can open up to new ideas on understanding how some dishes can be altered into something interesting. Knowledge will never end, there's always something new to learn everyday.
RA: Raga is not Gaggan Bangkok brought to India. It’s also not about trying to modernise Indian food just for the sake of making it different but it’s about understanding its roots, its memories and its emotions, and then expressing them through our own creative language.
A raga in Indian classical music is about rhythm, emotion and improvisation. There's structure, but within that structure you have the freedom to create. That's how we approach food.
After working together for so many years, Gaggan and I wanted Raga to carry everything we have learned. Raga needs its own identity. Some dishes may bring back memories, some may challenge what you expect Indian food to be, and some are simply there to make you smile.
For me, Raga is about taking Indian flavours forward while still respecting where they came from. It should feel progressive, emotional and playful. Above everything, it should taste delicious.
RA: Gaggan is definitely an explosion. I’m probably the person trying to control where the explosion lands!
We have very different energies in the kitchen. His mind moves fast, like an idea can appear from nowhere and suddenly he wants to turn it into a dish. My personality is more structured. I like to take an idea, break it apart, understand how we can execute it consistently and then push it until it becomes something real.
But after working together for so many years, there is also an intuitive understanding between us. Sometimes we don't need a long conversation. One of us can throw out an idea and the other already understands where it’s going to go.
We challenge each other because we don't always agree—and I think that's healthy. To be creative shouldn't always be comfortable. Sometimes the best dishes come from an argument, a mistake, or just a mutation of re-working a dish because it wasn't that good.
Gaggan taught me how to think without boundaries. Over the years, I think I’ve helped to bring in structure and precision to some of that madness. Somewhere between those two personalities is where our food happens.
RA: It feels unreal when I think about it. When I started working with Gaggan, he was very much my mentor. I was there to work, learn, absorb and understand his way of thinking. Over the years, that relationship naturally evolved. I took on more responsibility, developed my own voice and eventually became someone who could agree or disagree on certain matters rather than simply follow him.
Now, with Raga, we are building something together.
For me, partnership doesn't erase the fact that he has been my mentor. I will always respect that part of our relationship. But there is also a different kind of respect that
develops after spending more than a decade, going through successes, failures, pressure, and services together. Raga is another evolution of our relationship and I'm still learning from him.
RA: The strength of having the three of us is that we each bring a different perspective to the table.
Gaggan brings this rebellious energy, experience and ability to constantly challenge what a restaurant can be. My world is mostly centred around the food, the kitchen, R&D, execution and building the team and culture that can deliver our vision every night. ZK brings his own experience and understanding of operating restaurants in India and the Indian market. We do overlap. Raga isn't a project where everyone stays inside their own box. There are conversations, agreements, disagreements and ideas moving between all three of us. I think the partnership works because we are approaching the restaurant from different angles while trying to reach the same goals.
RA: I think people can have patience when you give them a reason to have patience. The 2.5 hrs or 3 hrs sounds too long if you imagine sitting at a table and simply waiting for 22 plates to arrive. There needs to be rhythm.
Some moments are serious, playful, some are fast, while some slow down. There will be interactions, stories, a good music playlist, curiosity about each dish and the energy of the room. We want the experience to progress rather than feel like a formal stagnant dinner experience. We don't want people coming into Raga and suddenly feel that they need to whisper because they're inside a fine dining restaurant. At the same time, we've been surprised to see how much guests have enjoyed the experience. When you create an environment that feels intentional, people naturally start paying attention.
I don't ask guests to behave differently. We just give them something worth being present for.
RA: Please come without expectations and an open mind. Don't come expecting that this is Gaggan Bangkok. Don't come expecting traditional Indian fine dining. And don't come trying to decide in advance what Raga should be. Just give us those 2.5 - 3 hrs and allow us to serve you, to experience Raga. You might recognise certain dishes, you might eat something you've never experienced before, and there might be moments that make you question what you're eating, licking or sipping. But hopefully, out of those 22 courses, something stays with you.