Chef Garima Arora becomes first Indian woman to receive Michelin star
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Among the top four restaurants to get two Michelin stars were Gagga, Suhring, Le Normandie and Mezzaluna.
Chef Garima Arora, owner of Gaa restaurant in Bangkok, became the first Indian woman to be awarded the prestigious Michelin star as it released its closely watched guide to Bangkok, Phuket and Phang-nga for 2019 this week.
Before Garima Arora, the list of Indian chefs whose restaurants have received a Michelin star include Vineet Bhatia, Vikas Khanna, Gaggan Anand.
The former chef de partie at Copenhagen’s Noma, consistently ranked as one of the world’s best restaurants, Arora hails from Mumbai. She opened Gaa last year which is popular for its Indian-Thai menu.
Garima Arora is an alumni of Paris' popular culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu. During her career in culinary and cuisines, she has worked with many renowned international chefs namely Gordan Ramsay and Rene Redzepi.
She has also briefly worked as a journalist in Mumbai before realising that being chef was her real call.
"Go Team Gaa! We couldn’t have done it without your hard work and commitment in the past one and a half year. Congratulations to our chef Garima, the first female Indian chef to ever get a star, you’re a force," the post on Gaa's official Facebook read.
This was the second edition of the 'Michelin guide Bangkok, Phuket and Phang-Nga 2019 Selection'. It recognised 27 dining eateries with 23 restaurants being awarded one star each, four had the honour of gaining two Michelin stars.
Among the top four restaurants to get two Michelin stars were Gaa, Suhring, Le Normandie and Mezzaluna.
According to the guide, one star signifies "a very good restaurant", two stars are "excellent cooking that is worth a detour", and three stars mean "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey".