Chef: A Novel

Jaspreet Singh grew up in India, and now lives in Canada. He is a former research scientist with a PhD in chemical engineering from McGill University, Montreal. His debut short-story collection, Seventeen Tomatoes, won the 2004 McAuslan First Book Prize. Chef, his first novel, won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction, was longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and was shortlisted for four awards including the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book.

Kirpal Singh—Kip to his friends—is returning to Kashmir after nearly fourteen years, where he once served as a military chef. Haunted by his past, he reminisces about his life in General Kumar’s camp, nestled in the shadow of the Siachen Glacier. It was there that he first encountered his fiery and anarchic mentor Chef Kishen, under whose supervision he was guided towards the heady spheres of women and food.

Amidst the turmoil that ravaged the Valley and the thwarted sexual yearnings that filled his days, Kip learned to prepare a host of delectable dishes—from rogan josh to tiramisu. Months passed, and though a Sikh, Kip felt secure in his allegiance to India, the right side of the interminable conflict. But one day, a Pakistani ‘terrorist’ with long, flowing hair was swept up on the banks of the river, and everything changed.

Shuttling between the present and the past, Chef exults in culinary delights even as it paints a moving portrait of war-scarred Kashmir.

ISBN: 9780670084326
Published by: Penguin Books India