Ranveer Brar
A self-described 'Food Sufi' and story-hungry wanderer who'd rather find a forgotten biryani down an old-city lane than a fancy tasting menu, and who believes home can be a person.
Ranveer is a Mumbai-based chef, MasterChef India judge, author, restaurateur and food filmmaker. He treats every dish as a doorway to a story: he wants to revive 'lost / lesser known grains' and 'lost dishes and their stories.' His career has taken him from Taj kitchens in Delhi and Goa to opening a fine-dining restaurant in Boston and back to Mumbai, and he still calls himself 'अदना सा बावर्ची', a humble cook. He is ambitious but relaxed about how he gets there, loves silly banter with his friends, and has a soft, reflective side: he posted that 'Ghar ek jagah nahi, ek इंसान bhi ho sakta hai' (home need not be a place; it can be a person).
His life is split across travel, shoots and restaurants on two continents. He has said publicly that home can be a person rather than a place, so emotional anchoring through someone likely matters more to him than a fixed address.
- IG“Ghar ek jagah nahi, ek इंसान bhi ho sakta hai...tag them!”
- IG“मुसाफ़िर ... Story hungry Traveller”
He has uprooted from Delhi to Boston and back to Mumbai, then branched into TV, books and films. He openly admires people who 'walk away from certainty.' A partner who wants a rigid, predictable life would struggle.
- in“Both chose to begin again. To walk away from certainty and build something they could call their own.”
- in“I am always on the look out for the next challenge.”
For him, food is mostly the stories it carries. He would feel most seen by someone who is genuinely interested in the lore, the region and the people behind a dish.
- IG“ek plate khana, ek patila kisse”
- in“reviving lost dishes and their stories”
He consults for and endorses 17 brands, co-owns restaurants in North America, judges MasterChef India and runs a YouTube show. His schedule is packed and visible. A partner would need to be secure with that, and help protect real downtime.
- in“Consulting for and endorsing 17 food (and food related) brands in the country..”
- IG“Followers: 4676859 ... Posts: 10154”
His posts are full of memes, audience games and 'bromance.' Humour and light back-and-forth are clearly part of how he connects.
- IG“Comments mein बताइए your version of left-right.🤣”
- IG“chaar bhai, machane khoob tabahi!”
He responds to big honours with 'honoured and humbled' and calls himself a humble cook. Someone who is grounded and appreciative would match his temperament better than someone chasing glamour.
- in“Extremely honoured and humbled to be appointed Food Ambassador for Odia cuisine 🙏😊”
- IG“अदना सा बावर्ची”
- Travelling for inspirationTravel is creative fuel for him, not just leisure. It sits right in his headline and in his bio.
- in“Love travelling to get inspired.”
- in“Chef | Traveller | Restaurateur”
- Hunting hidden regional foodHe is now on a third season of tracking down biryanis that never go viral. He is drawn to obscure, local finds.
- IG“explore the biryanis that never entered your feed and will never leave your taste buds”
- IG“Thums Up Toofani Biryani Hunt Season 3 coming soon”
- Podcasting and food storytellingHe records podcast episodes that dig into regional techniques, such as Bengal's Goyna Bori.
- in“Wadi is quite the omnipresent component in our cuisine... the Goyna Bori from Bengal.”
- IG“food trivia, stories, podcast, interview”
- Cooking everyday comfort foodBeyond fine dining, he shares homely recipes like vada pav and chicken pulao, and is openly excited about them.
- IG“Main toh first bite mein दीवाना ho gaya... आप भी try kijiye.”
- IG“Vada Pav ... #streetfood #maharashtriandish”
- Goofing around with close friends on cameraHe launched 'Yess Chef', a food quiz show on his own YouTube channel, with a gang of friends.
- IG“Bromance promax”
- IG“Internet phatne wala hai… kyunki ek saath aa gaye hain chaar bhai”
- Lost grains, rice varieties and forgotten dishesCulinary revival is his stated passion.
- in“Passionate about reviving lost / lesser known grains and rice varieties”
- Seasonal and regional Indian foodHe follows food through the seasons and regions, from winter fare to Odia cuisine.
- in“seasonal fare like the black carrot kanji and the sarson ka saag”
- in“appointed Food Ambassador for Odia cuisine”
- Old-city heritage and street cultureHe playfully poses as a street vendor at a cart in Lucknow, where he also studied at IHM, and has curated menus for heritage properties.
- IG“Guess what I am selling? ... #lucknowcity”
- in“Menu curation for varied entities, ranging from the heritage Alila Bishangarh”
- Taking Indian stories to the worldHe thinks about culture and IP beyond the kitchen, as a speaker at FICCI FRAMES.
- IG“India has stories the world is ready to hear.”
- Fusion and culinary experimentationHe blends traditions and invents new concepts.
- in“It combined Asian details with French techniques”
- in“Conceptualized a fast food chain concept (Dosa Factory)”
- Other people's creative journeysHe seeks out fellow chefs in their own spaces to understand what they built.
- in“I wanted to meet them where they belong. In their restaurants.”
- Heritage and memoryHe wants to preserve what is being forgotten, whether dishes, grains or the stories attached to them.
- in“reviving lost dishes and their stories”
- Giving and mentorshipHe sees food as a giver and invests in the next generation.
- in“Mentoring 3 universities and IIHM group of institutions..”
- in“affirms my faith in food as a giver”
- Humility and gratitudeHe stays self-effacing despite major recognition.
- in“Honoured and humbled that going with the flow of food has led me here. 🙏”
- Loyalty and long associationsHe publicly celebrates relationships that have lasted over a decade.
- in“One of the most Cherished and enriching associations spanning over a decade”
- Courage to reinventHe admires people who walk away from certainty, and he has done it himself.
- in“Both chose reinvention”
- Base
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Pace
- Very fast. He juggles TV, a YouTube show, brand work, restaurants and events, yet his personal philosophy is to 'go with the flow.'
- Social
- Warm and group-loving. He has close friendships, long professional bonds and constant audience interaction.
- Travel
- Frequent and purposeful. He travels to get inspired and to hunt regional food; his career has spanned India and Boston.
- Health
- No fitness or wellness habits are visible in the sources.
- Work / life
- Work and passion are deeply intertwined, and he has little visible downtime. Food is both his job and his joy.
- Talks like
- He writes in chatty, affectionate Hinglish, mixing Devanagari and English with lots of emojis and invitations ('Haan ji… आवाज़ aa rahi hai? Toh आ जाइए!'). In longer writing he turns reflective and lyrical, using short, observant lines ('You notice what they notice. You hear what they hear.'). He is quick to laugh and quick to credit others.
- Shows care by
- He shows up in your world. He chose to visit fellow chefs 'where they belong' rather than anywhere convenient. He publicly thanks and honours the people who matter to him, and he shares food and its stories as a form of giving. Expect him to cook for you, tell you the tale behind the dish, and remember the places that matter to you.
- Stays humble and grateful despite huge fame
- Sustains relationships for a decade or more
- Invests in mentoring students and institutions
- Curious about other people's journeys and makes the effort to meet them on their turf
- Playful, doesn't take himself too seriously
- Believes a person can be home, which suggests he values deep emotional bonds
- His calendar is relentlessly full with shows, brands, restaurants and events, so quality time may need active protecting
- Very public life. Posting daily to millions means privacy and visibility could be a recurring negotiation
- A restless appetite for 'the next challenge' may mean frequent change and travel
- Work and passion blur together, so switching off from food and content may not come naturally
- Pretentiousness or snobbery about 'humble' street and home food
- Disrespect toward heritage, regional cultures or the people behind food
- Someone who needs a fixed, predictable routine and resents travel or change
- Lack of curiosity, or no interest in stories and where things come from
- Someone who can't take a joke or join in the banter
Someone curious, warm and secure, who asks 'what's the story here?' at every meal and laughs easily at a silly bit. They'd be comfortable with a moving, public life, perhaps with their own bold leap or passion to share, and grounded enough to feel like home to a man who is always on the road.
- An unhurried wander through an old-city bazaar, eating at street carts and asking vendors about their recipes, in the spirit of his Lucknow street-cart post
- A regional food hunt: tracking down an obscure biryani or a lesser-known rice dish, then swapping stories about the dishes you each grew up with
- A cosy evening cooking homely comfort food together, like vada pav or chicken pulao, while he tells the 'patila kisse' behind each one
- Ask what a restaurant revealed about its creator when he visited Manish Mehrotra at Nisaba and Prateek Sadhu at Naar, and whether he's ever had to 'begin again' himself
- Ask about a lost grain or rice variety he'd most love to bring back, and the story attached to it
- Ask about Goyna Bori from Bengal, or his favourite seasonal winter dish like black carrot kanji
- Mention 'Ghar ek jagah nahi, ek इंसान bhi ho sakta hai' and ask who, or what, feels like home to him