Jaspal Inder Singh Kalra, better known as Jiggs Kalra (21 May 1947 – 4 June 2019), was an Indian restaurateur, food columnist, television host, and author. He was popularly known as the "czar of Indian cuisine" and "tastemaker to the Nation."

Career

Jaspal Inder Singh Kalra attended Mayo College, a boarding school in Rajasthan, where he was captain of the basketball team where he may have acquired the nickname Jiggs. Soon after graduating, he started working as a trainee journalist at

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

in Bombay. Kalra wrote about innovative restaurants, unusual ingredients and new and old techniques in Indian cuisine. With his encyclopaedic knowledge of North Indian cuisine, he was often the last word on authenticity; he was frequently sought out by restaurants and hotels to perfect recipes and develop menus. He authored over 11 titles on Indian cuisine, including PRASHAD which is also considered as 'the bible' for chefs of today. He was considered an ambassador of Indian cuisine worldwide. In 2013, he opened a new restaurant, Masala Library, in

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...

, which the ''New York Times'' called "his temple of new-age Indian cuisine." He was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mayo College Heritage Society. He had been an advisor to the

India Trade Promotion Organisation India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), headquartered at Pragati Maidan, is the nodal agency of the Government of India under aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting country's external trade. ITPO is a Mini-Ratna Cate ...

, advisor to the Ministry of Tourism,

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its districts of Rajasthan, 41 districts. It consists of an executive branch, led by the governor of Rajasthan, as well as judiciary and legis ...

and on the Board of Directors of

MTR Foods MTR Foods is an Indian food products company based in Bengaluru, India. The company manufactures a range of packaged foods including breakfast mixes, ready to eat meals, masalas and spices, snacks and beverages. MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. is a subsid ...

. He represented

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the Peabody Hotel (Memphis in May festival, USA 1999), the First World Gourmet Summit in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the St Moritz Winter Festival in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and the Third Food and Wine Festival in Singapore. He anchored two television programs, ''Zaike Ka Safar'' and ''Daawat: An Invitation to Indian Cooking''. Per the ''New York Times'', "his efforts in particular to chronicle and promote Awadhi cuisine is said to have changed Indian restaurant menus across the world." He was inducted into the International Food and Beverage Forum Hall of Fame (2004) for his personal commitment and exceptional contribution to the international aspects of the F&B industry.

Television

''Daawat'', one of India's first food shows, aired on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

in 1991 hosted by Jiggs Kalra. Each of the 32 episodes featured unique recipes made by a cook brought in by Kalra. He also hosted ''Zaike ka Safar'', a food-centric travelogue on Zee.

Publications

Books authored by Jiggs Kalra include: * 1986 - ''Prashad: Cooking with Indian Masters''. . * 2001 - ''Jiggs Kalra's Daawat: The Television Series with Pushpesh Pant''. . * 2003 - ''Kama Bhog: Foods of Love''. . * 2004 - ''Classic Cooking of Punjab''. . * 2005 - ''Jiggs Kalra`s Classic Cooking Of Avadh''. . * 2007 - ''Zaike Ka Safar: 100 Best of Jiggs Kalra''. . * 2016 - ''Classic Cooking of Rajasthan''. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalra, Jiggs 1947 births 2019 deaths Indian restaurateurs Indian cookbook writers