(Jun 15, 2025) “From Melbourne to Adelaide — Daughter in Law isn’t just a restaurant, it’s a full-blown curry party with attitude. I launched Daughter in Law with one mission: to break the rules of traditional Indian dining. We’re loud. We’re colourful. We call our cuisine ‘unauthentic’ — and proudly so,” restaurateur Jessi Singh recently announced.
He grew up in a Punjabi kitchen, and now his restaurants are turning heads from Melbourne to New York City, With names as cheeky and unforgettable as the flavours they serve: Babu Ji, Pinki Ji, Horn Please, Don’t Tell Aunty, Daughter in Law, Daughters Arms, and Bibi Ji. Each one a riot of colour, culture, and flair, stitched together by one man’s mission to make Indian food the life of the global party.
With the recent launch of Daughter in Law in Adelaide, Singh has brought his vibrant brand of Indian cuisine to a new corner of Australia. From Melbourne to New York City, from Santa Barbara to now Adelaide, Singh’s signature style is striking with spirited spaces, unconventional menus, and an invitation to experience Indian food as a party.
But before the curry cocktails, the cheeky restaurant names, and the international acclaim, there was a Punjabi kitchen, a child learning to chop onions, and the beginning of a culinary journey rooted in tradition, and destined to rewrite it.
From Punjab to the world
Jessi Singh’s culinary journey began far from neon signs and self-serve beer fridges. It started in a village in Punjab, where food wasn’t just nourishment, rather it was seva (service), it was celebration, it was home.
“My journey into hospitality began in my family kitchen — with my mum, grandma, and sister teaching me the soulful basics of Indian cooking,” he shares. Those formative experiences in a crowded kitchen full of spice, sweat, and soul planted a seed that would grow into something global.
Born into a large Punjabi family, Singh was expected to pursue a more “respectable” profession. But he knew early on that the surgeon-or-engineer path wasn’t for him. Like many first-generation immigrants, he faced the pressure of the “brown family dream.” Instead of resisting quietly, he leaned into his love for food and used it to chart his own path.
The kitchen became his classroom, his creative outlet, and ultimately, his launchpad.
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Sharpened by the world, rooted in India
After moving to the USA,, Singh’s culinary identity was shaped in restaurant kitchens across California and New York, where he learned Western techniques but kept Indian flavours close. His career sharpened not in culinary school, but through hands-on work in French, Italian, and American kitchens.
Still, the masalas from his childhood remained his compass. And when he finally opened restaurants of his own, he didn’t mimic the Michelin crowd. He did what no one else was doing. He created something entirely new.
“I’m Jessi Singh — chef, restaurateur, and unapologetic rule-breaker behind a global collection of Indian restaurants that are as colourful and cheeky as the dishes I serve,” says the restaurateur.
The birth of ‘Unauthentic Indian Cuisine’
Singh coined the term “Unauthentic Indian Cuisine” to reflect what he was doing, playfully subverting expectations. He wasn’t interested in serving a carbon copy of dishes found in Delhi or Mumbai. Instead, he pulled from across the subcontinent, added global twists, and served it with flair.
“I pioneered what I call ‘Unauthentic Indian Cuisine’ — playful, modern, proudly rebellious. My restaurants blend traditional flavours with unexpected twists, served in spaces full of loud music, vibrant decor, cocktails, and serious attitude,” he remarks.
And it worked. From Babu Ji in New York and San Francisco to Don’t Tell Aunty and Pinki Ji in Sydney, Singh’s restaurants became hotspots not just for food, but for the entire experience. Menus featured naan pizzas, Colonel Tso’s cauliflower, Kingfisher ceviche, and cocktails with names as cheeky as the décor. In Singh’s world, tradition isn’t abandoned, rather remixed with love.
“Each restaurant is a new chapter in the same story: bold food, wild ideas, and the belief that hospitality should be fun, inclusive, and full of flavour — literally and culturally.”
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Building a brand with heart
As Jessi’s restaurant empire grew, so did his vision. He began focusing on not just running individual locations but mentoring other chefs, licensing his brand, and using food as a platform for storytelling. “I’m also focused on licensing my brand, mentoring chefs, and telling stories through food, design, and digital platforms,” he says.
The latest Daughter in Law in Adelaide is a result of this approach. Instead of rigid franchising, Singh uses brand licensing to keep the soul intact. It allows each location to carry the same heartbeat while allowing room for local adaptation.
“Huge shoutout to the Adelaide team for keeping the unapologetic energy alive and giving SA a proper taste of chaos,” he said after the opening. The excitement was more than a social media post, it was proof that his model works.
Beyond the plate
For Singh, food has never been just about the ingredients. It’s about the entire experience of the design, the music, the laughter, and the moment. “Whether it’s a cocktail with a side of chaos or a thali served with neon lights and Bollywood beats — I believe food should entertain as much as it nourishes,” says the restaurateur who has travelled extensively around the world.
His restaurants are full of such moments with dishes that spark conversation, décor that triggers memory, and spaces where culture is not only respected but celebrated with attitude.
And while he’s earned accolades from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Time Out, and Good Food Guide, the validation that matters most to Singh is seeing diverse groups of people come together over a shared meal, dancing, drinking, connecting.
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The global Indian who chose his own recipe
Jessi Singh is part of a generation of global Indians rewriting what success looks like. He didn’t follow the script. He didn’t chase a degree that would please extended relatives. Instead, he chose flavour, flair, and a path that honoured his roots while daring to reinterpret them.
That decision to skip the “respectable” path and turn a passion into a cultural force, makes him more than just a chef. It makes him a storyteller of the diaspora, a disruptor of outdated narratives, and a reminder that Indian identity, like Indian cuisine, is vast, diverse, and always evolving.
Today, from his kitchen in Adelaide to the streets of St Kilda, from Santa Barbara to Sydney, Jessi Singh continues to serve not just food, but a celebration of what it means to be Indian. The restaurant names themselves are layered with diaspora wit and a nod to Indian family politics, cheeky secrets, and the complex love we have for tradition. This isn’t nostalgia served in silence. It’s memory turned up to full volume.
And that’s exactly what Singh wants — restaurants that speak back, tell stories, and bring people together across cultures and generations.
Jessi Singh’s restaurants:
- Daughter in Law (Australia: Melbourne, Adelaide) – Indian food, served as if there’s a party
- Babu Ji (USA: NYC, San Francisco, and UK: St Kilda) -The original rebel that brought him global attention
- Don’t Tell Aunty (Australia: Sydney) – Where scandal and spice go hand in hand
- Bibi Ji (USA: Santa Barbara) – Indian coastal meets Californian cool
- Horn Please (Australia: Melbourne) – A tribute to street food with heart
- Pinki Ji (Australia: Sydney) – Homestyle flavours and modern style
- Daughters Arms (Australia: Melbourne) – An Indian-Aussie pub with curry and cold beer
Follow Jessi Singh on Instagram and LinkedIn
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