Cyrus Todiwala talks to us from Taste 2010!

Why did you decide to get involved with Action Against Hunger at Taste this year?

I have been an Action Against Hunger supporter for over 12 years. This year is the first time that the opportunity came up for me to actually host a whole day as a restaurant, and it was a great idea, so we just jumped into it.

There are two main reasons why I support Action Against Hunger. One, is that it is a great cause; we waste so much food in Britain and I am sure that whatever we generate today at Taste will go towards those who are less fortunate than we are. Number two is that a great proportion of the money raised goes to the cause. There are so many charities where the admin costs are so high, whereas with Action Against Hunger over 84% goes directly to the programmes. That is very close to my heart, and something I feel very strongly about. 

Is this your first time at Taste? How is the experience so far?

 No, I have been here right from the beginning. I think Taste is fantastic and the whole feeling among the chefs is brilliant - there is a great comradery here. From the public perspective, I think people have a brilliant time coming to the show every year, and every year Taste gets better. 

What will you be cooking for everyone today?

Today we have three options: Keralan beetroot and coconut samosa, a smoked seabass salad and also a venison bhuna. 

Are they new dishes, or tried & tested favourites?

The beetroot samoas are our signature favourite, they are very popular in our restaurant and I don’t think we can ever take it off the menu now! The farmer we use was also very happy to donate all the beetroot so it was great to offer high quality produce where all the money goes to Action Against Hunger. The seabass for the salad, and the venison for the curry, was also kindly donated.

How challenging is it to spearhead a pop-up restaurant with limited preparation time?

(Laughs) Always a challenge! Yet, with experience you learn what to do and what not to do. During the first couple of years we always get over-excited and want to give people who come to Taste the very best experience, but you soon realise how much difficulty you get yourself into if you take on way too much. Things get delayed and people queue for too long. We have now learnt from experience and today people are thrilled with the food and we are getting it out fast and efficiently. We are managing the covers much faster.

There is a multitude of top chefs at this year's Taste – any pop-ups that you will be visiting?!

That is very difficult for me – I have too many friends here! I will definitely go and meet my friend Steve Munkley from The Tenth at the Royal Garden Hotel and Michel Roux. There are also my Indian colleagues….there is just too many people to meet….

You pioneer Asian cooking in Britain, are we in a good place for Asian food to flourish?

If there is any place in the world where Asian food can succeed internationally it is going to be Britain. This is because there is already a huge demand for the cuisine itself. However, I think Britain has to break a mould. The mould we need to break is in inspiring young chefs and exciting them in choosing to cook Asian food. We are still a long way from this because most budding young chefs want to learn British or French cooking.

You were recently awarded an OBE, how did that feel?

Shocking. I got an OBE which is very rare when you already have an MBE, so it came as a surprise. With all awards, it was a nice feeling of being recognised.

What can we expect from you in 2011? Any exciting projects coming up?

There are lots of things happening. Oh gosh! Well, we launched our sauces, and are now looking to take them further professionally, but that is very time consuming. I am also hoping to do something on the restaurant front again, and then there is so many demos, charity dinners….no relaxation for me!