(September 7, 2025): A random chat with a stranger in a Mumbai bar one evening changed the course of life for Nehal Karkera. At the time, Nehal was a professional chef with global exposure—he had led kitchens for celebrated Italian restaurants in Mumbai, trained under Michelin-star chefs in Atlanta, and even cooked aboard Disney Cruise Lines in the US. The stranger told him he needed chefs to make food videos. Back then, video meant YouTube and Facebook—Instagram Reels didn’t even exist. Curious, Nehal shot a couple of recipes, which impressed the man enough to land him a role at the food channel Gobble.
That accidental encounter marked the beginning of Nehal’s journey from professional chef to food content creator. “For a few years since then, I cranked out over 1,000 recipe videos, mostly top-down ones where only my hands were visible. The funniest part? Because my name is Nehal, everyone kept commenting, ‘Ma’am, your recipes are amazing,’” he laughs, in a chat with Global Indian.
Since 2018, Nehal has carved a unique space in the food content landscape—blending humour, nostalgia, and flavour-forward recipes that connect across generations. Whether he’s reimagining comfort food or turning mango season into a cinematic saga, his content is always equal parts entertaining and mouth-watering.
Cooking seriously, filming playfully
By his own admission, cooking is the only time Nehal gets serious. “Because if I mess up a recipe, someone else will waste their money and end up hating me. I can’t live with that kind of karma. So yes, videos are fun, but my recipes are tested like school exams,” he says.
He worked full-time at Gobble for 18 months and then part-time for another year while simultaneously working as a chef consultant, helping with the opening of various restaurants across Mumbai.
Comfort food at the core
Nehal has always cooked what he genuinely loved—comfort food. “Dal chawal, omelettes, pastas, the kind of stuff even Michelin-star chefs secretly eat at home,” he smiles, adding that he started his own page in 2020. The best compliment, he insists, is when people try his recipes at home and post them online. “That’s better than a million likes. Cooking isn’t perfect, and neither am I. I think people connect to that,” he says.
Secret recipe: Humour, nostalgia, and food
Humour came naturally. “I like teaching, but not in a ‘MasterChef judge’ way. More like, ‘Arre, don’t stress—if your paratha looks like Africa, it’s still edible.’” Nehal had always been a funny kid. Later in professional kitchens, he was the prankster while still getting the work done. “When I started creating content, I decided that if I’m not enjoying the food, why would anyone else?”
View this post on Instagram
Growing up a Mumbaikar
Raised in a traditional Mangalorean family in Mumbai, Nehal was the hands-on kid who loved building things or doing anything physical—the “manual labour” guy in group projects.
Life, however, wasn’t smooth sailing. His father passed away when he was 12, and his mother, a homemaker with no formal education, struggled to keep things together. “So we moved in with my grandmother, aunt, and uncle. They took charge of raising us. I owe a lot to them,” says Nehal. While other kids dreamt of becoming astronauts or engineers, Nehal was the oddball who thought, “I just want to be around food.”
The food guy
By 10th grade, Nehal was certain about his path. “No IIT dreams, no UPSC plans, just food. Khana Khazana was my Netflix before Netflix,” he laughs.
His logic was simple: “I might not earn a fortune, but at least I’ll never go hungry.” The first dish he ever cooked was a cheese omelette at the age of nine. “I genuinely thought Gordon Ramsay would show up at my door and shake my hand,” he quips. Professional kitchens, however, humbled him quickly. He realized there was much more to cooking than cheese and eggs.
Taj President to Mia Cucina
Nehal began his professional career at the Taj President. But when the 2008 financial crisis hit, teams were reshuffled, and he was asked to move to Chennai.
“I didn’t want to move to Chennai for a salary that wouldn’t even cover my vada pav cravings. So I joined this new Italian restaurant called Mia Cucina in 2007. ”Back then, handmade pasta in Mumbai was like UFO sightings—rare and exciting. We weren’t doing the ‘red sauce, white sauce’ thing; we were doing the real deal,” recalls Nehal. He stayed at Mia Cucina for eight years, eventually rising to executive chef and managing 200 people.
But with seniority came paperwork. “Once you hit that level, cooking slows down and paperwork takes over. And I didn’t sign up to become an Excel sheet warrior.”
Training in the US
Soon, Nehal packed his bags and moved to Atlanta to train at Château Élan, a Michelin-starred winery. “From Executive Chef to trainee cook again, it was like starting from scratch, but honestly refreshing.” In America, he also realized something different: chefs worked five days a week and still made good money.
Nehal describes his training as a whirlwind. “The property had a fine dining restaurant that had just earned—and then lost—a Michelin star the year before, so naturally the stakes and standards were sky-high.” One of his earliest “big responsibilities” was cleaning artichokes and preparing condiments for plating and presentation. “That was pretty much my main task—the top chefs handling the masterpieces, and juniors like me getting intimate with vegetables.”
But the experience taught him humility and patience. He was constantly shuffled around—one week in the main kitchen handling buffets, another in the casual dining outlet, sometimes in speciality restaurants, and occasionally even in the bar space. Looking back, he believes this rotation was the best training ground. “It exposed me to different chefs, different systems, and the way every part of a large-scale operation works together.” The biggest takeaway? Pride. “Everything had a place. The design, the hygiene standards, the workflow—it was all thought through to the last detail.”
Lessons vs Indian kitchens
In India, especially in Mumbai, Nehal says kitchens are often an afterthought. “You’re cramming ten things into half the space. Over there (in the US), the kitchen was the heart of the restaurant, not hidden away like a utility.”
He also noticed how uncompromising they were about produce. “If something didn’t meet the standards, it didn’t matter who supplied it—it was rejected.”
And then there was people management. “Watching how chefs and managers handled teams was a big eye-opener. In those kitchens, it wasn’t just about cooking—it was about leading.”
Disney Cruise adventures
Nehal’s next stop was Disney Cruise Lines in Orlando, Florida, where he cooked while travelling to different Caribbean islands. “Feeding 4,000 people daily taught me the fine art of bulk cooking. Imagine making 3,000 portions of mashed potatoes without crying,” he laughs. Disney, he says, was magical. “Where else can you make pasta while Mickey Mouse walks past you?”
It was during a two-month break from Disney that Nehal had the fateful bar meeting in Mumbai. “Suddenly I had to choose between going back to my cruise-ship life with zero days off or entering a world where people said the magic words: ‘Weekends are off.’”
A simple life beyond food
Nehal’s routine is anything but glamorous. “I’m up by 6, drink my fancy lemon water, reply to emails, cook breakfast, and pack my wife’s dabba. Shoots start around 11, wrap up by 5, then I edit videos with coffee till 8:30. Dinner by 10, lights out by 10:30. Rock ‘n roll lifestyle, I know,” he laughs.
When he’s not cooking, Nehal enjoys watching movies in any language or genre—“if it’s interesting, I’m in.” He also loves go-karting. “If my ancestors had left me some gold mines, I’d probably be driving Formula 1 instead of sautéing onions. For now, go-karts will do,” he laughs.
Future plans
Nehal will soon be releasing his cookbook and launching a product, though he’s keeping details under wraps. “I go with the flow. Content creation itself happened because of one random bar chat, an accident. Who knows what’s next?” he remarks as he signs off.
Also Read: Chef Anuj Sarkar: From global kitchens to Gauri Khan’s Torii, a culinary destination with SRK ties
