Himanshu Saini Dazzles With 3 Stars From Michelin – A First For Indian Food
India-West News Desk
NEW DELHI — Chef Himanshu Saini of Trèsind Studio, his intimate 20-seater nestled in Dubai’s Nakheel Mall, has earned a place in culinary history. At the fourth edition of the Michelin Guide Dubai, Trèsind Studio became the first Indian restaurant in the world to be awarded the coveted three Michelin Stars.
Only one other Dubai restaurant, FZN by Bjorn Frantzen, shares the honor this year.
The journey to this pinnacle of recognition has been anything but ordinary for Saini. From the bustling lanes of Old Delhi’s Sui Walan to the gleaming skyline of Dubai, the chef’s story is as layered and flavorful as the cuisine he creates. Speaking to the Michelin Guide Saini reflected on his humble beginnings, helping his mother cook for their extended family. “My grandmother would give tasks in the kitchen to everyone in the house, much like how we work in a professional kitchen,” he said.
This early exposure to collaborative cooking sparked a lifelong passion. His formal training began at Indian Accent in New Delhi, a trailblazer in modern Indian cuisine. Under the mentorship of renowned chef Manish Mehrotra, Saini began to understand the possibilities of innovation within tradition. “What I learned at Indian Accent formed the basis of what I’m doing right now,” he said in the interview, calling Mehrotra a key influence.
But Saini didn’t stop at replicating modern Indian cuisine — he reimagined it. He describes his approach as a continuous evolution of a cuisine shaped by history and global interaction. “Potatoes and tomatoes weren’t originally Indian. They came with the colonizers. Indian food has always evolved,” he explained to MG. His philosophy is to continue that evolution, pushing boundaries while keeping flavors familiar.
His own leap came in 2014, when he relocated to Dubai to launch Trèsind. Saini said his move to the UAE came “via New York,” where he had briefly explored career prospects. Ultimately, Dubai offered a dynamic platform to share his vision. “This city welcomes people with arms wide open,” he told MG, lauding its diversity and appetite for culinary innovation.
In 2018, he opened Trèsind Studio, a smaller, more intimate space for his most ambitious creations. “We wanted to make people understand what Indian food is,” he said, emphasizing that the cuisine is often misunderstood and underestimated. With a focus on storytelling and flavor memory, his dishes blend the nostalgic with the unexpected — such as a luxurious corn curry with lobster, where the corn, not the crustacean, takes center stage.
Trèsind Studio first entered the Michelin sights with a single star — a dream fulfilled. “It was on my bucket list. It’s what every young chef hopes to achieve,” he said of that first recognition. “And now I’m officially a member of the Michelin Guide family. What a feeling! It’s something that still feels like a dream.”
Even with global acclaim, Saini remains grounded in the power of teamwork. “A chef without his team is nothing,” he stated candidly. “The experience and the team are extremely important.” He added that service, often overlooked, is essential to the dining experience. “Good service can save bad food, but bad service can’t be saved by good food.”
He also brings a human touch to his culinary artistry, frequently serving dishes himself and sharing their stories directly with guests. He recalled to MG the emotional impact of diners who were moved to tears by the flavors or memories his dishes evoked — moments he considers the true reward of his work.
Saini’s cooking philosophy also embraces sustainability and vegetarianism. Many of his dishes are plant-forward, with animal proteins as an accent. “In our corn curry with lobster, the corn curry is still the star,” he pointed out.
For aspiring chefs, Saini offers heartfelt advice: “Learn to work for someone so you’d know how people can work for you.” He champions humility, honesty, and joy in one’s work. “If those things are in place, then the sky’s the limit.”
In a lighter moment, Saini shared with MG a glimpse of the road not taken — a past dream of becoming a sports journalist. “I was a big Manchester United fan. Around 2012, I was even thinking about covering football for a living,” he laughed, calling it his personal “butterfly effect.”
Now, with three MICHELIN Stars shining brightly over Trèsind Studio, it’s clear that the path he chose — one of flavor, discipline, and reinvention — was the right one. Chef Himanshu Saini hasn’t just elevated Indian cuisine; he’s transformed it into a global conversation.
