It’s a startlingly honest admission in a market that often celebrates chefs as infallible lifestyle brands. But Brar, 46, is cut from a different cloth. Even as he juggles television shows, acting roles, and a growing literary profile, he sees himself primarily as a learner. “I’m now understanding how to be better at managing and running restaurants — how to cook, how to translate the simplest of emotions into good food,” he says.

Shift towards intimacy

Brar’s career has evolved well beyond the kitchen. He has authored three cookbooks, judged MasterChef India, and hosted multiple food travelogues that blend storytelling with culinary insight. But 2023 marked a pivotal moment. He launched Kashkan, a contemporary Indian restaurant whose name fuses Kashmir and Kanyakumari and symbolises a pan-Indian culinary journey, in Dubai.

“We’re encouraged by its response to launch the second Kashkan there, which will open soon,” he shares. Unlike past ventures that felt either too stretched or too market-driven, Kashkan feels closer to Brar’s evolving philosophy. “In times to come, my eventual goal will be to be at just one small restaurant — a 20-25 seater — where people will be treated like they’re being invited to your living/dining room. This is where I’m heading.”

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This shift toward intimacy — both in food and form — feels aligned with Brar’s larger arc. The public may know him as a celebrity chef, but in private, he’s also a poet, photographer, and publisher. “Not many people know that poetry has been my secret passion for years,” he shares. “Interestingly, I started writing poetry before I even started cooking. However, those were all secret poems. But lately, when I’ve started reading my poems out to people, they’ve appreciated it, which encouraged me to write this book.”

His first poetry book

Shikayatein (Complaints), his debut collection of poetry and his first foray into non-cookery writing, is set to be released through his own publishing house, Inkstain. “Photography and poetry — about people I’ve met on my travels — are my two biggest passions,” he adds. For Brar, storytelling isn’t just an artistic outlet. It’s an extension of how he experiences the world.

Much of that sensibility stems from Lucknow, the city that shaped him. “This interest in literature comes from my love for my city, Lucknow,” he says. “In fact, I’ve stood for Lucknow all my life — the city’s mushairas, kavi sammelans, and good literature. So poetry fits very well into my persona as a Lucknow boy.”

That cultural grounding also informs how he raises his son. “I’m constantly speaking to him about what he’s reading and where. I want him to read books — not online,” he says. This analog loyalty — to food, words, and human connection — is what keeps Brar relevant even as the media landscape changes around him.

Interestingly, his most surprising pivot has come not through food or writing, but acting. In 2022, Brar made his acting debut in Modern Love Mumbai, playing a character in a same-sex relationship — a bold move for someone long associated with traditional culinary programming. “I didn’t want to act. It happened,” he says. “But when I was offered my first role, I was hesitant because it was an LGBTQ role. “‘Log kya kahenge?’ (what will people say?) was playing on my mind.”

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That hesitation, he says, echoed an earlier moment of self-doubt: “It took me back to the days when I was hesitant to be a professional chef also — again thinking ‘log kya kahenge.’” But Modern Love Mumbai was both a critical and personal breakthrough. “It emboldened me. It encouraged me that people are ready to accept me in a role that was very different to Chef Ranveer Brar,” he says.

His most valuable asset

That led to The Buckingham Murders (2024) opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan, and most recently, Maa Kasam, a family drama set to premiere on Amazon Prime later this year. “Acting gives me perspective. It gives me a greater listening capability that allows me to project myself better, encourages me to listen to others, which in turn makes me a better person,” he says.

To refine this new craft, Brar recently enrolled in a short course on camera art through Natyashastra at Auroville. “It helped me understand the nuances of performance better,” he notes, highlighting his hunger to learn and unlearn at every stage.

Despite his multifaceted career, Brar’s focus remains deeply human. Whether through a recipe, a line of verse, or a dramatic role, he’s ultimately trying to connect. “I want a space where people don’t just eat food, they feel it,” he says of his dream restaurant. “Where the act of dining is an exchange of emotions.”

That ethos is perhaps what sets Ranveer Brar apart from other celebrity chefs chasing scale and speed. He’s not just building a brand, but a legacy that’s rooted in emotion, guided by aesthetics, and tempered by honesty. In a culture of instant gratification, Brar’s slow-burning authenticity may just be his most valuable asset.