'Fell In Love With UAE Culture': UK Chef Plans Indian-Middle Eastern Cookbook

The UAE's rich food culture and the warmth of Emirati hospitality have left such a strong impression on British-Indian chef Nitisha Patel that she is already considering bringing Indian and Middle Eastern flavours together in her next cookbook.

Patel, an award-winning development chef (R&D chef) and food consultant from the United Kingdom, said her experience in Sharjah had opened up new culinary possibilities, particularly the opportunity to explore how Middle Eastern ingredients, flavours and traditions could complement Indian cooking.

Having built her career around celebrating authentic Indian flavours, she believes there is considerable scope to experiment with regional influences without losing the essence of traditional cuisine.

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“This is my second time in the UAE, but my first time for work. And I've absolutely fallen in love with the UAE culture, the Emirati hospitality. I've fallen in love with Sharjah. It's such a beautiful city,” she said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the second day of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2026, Patel said the flavours and hospitality she had experienced during her visit were likely to influence her future culinary projects.

“I would definitely take back the Middle Eastern flavours. Middle Eastern flavours are so lovely. Just yesterday, I did an Instagram post about Middle Eastern meze and salads, and how I would love that with Indian food,” she said.

Her first cookbook, My Modern Indian Kitchen, explored the coming together of British and Indian flavours. However, the chef believes her next book could take that experimentation in a different direction.

"If I was to write another book, it would be Middle Eastern and Indian flavours because I've fallen in love with the Middle East," she said.

For Patel, the attraction is not simply about combining ingredients but understanding the food traditions and cultures behind them.

Patel's relationship with food began long before she entered professional kitchens. Growing up in Wolverhampton in the UK in a large Gujarati family, she remembers weekends filled with celebrations, weddings, birthdays and festivals, where food was central to bringing people together.

Cooking alongside her mother from the age of three, she developed an early appreciation for the role food played in preserving cultural identity and strengthening community ties.

However, pursuing it as a profession was not an obvious choice.

“I've grown up in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. Back then, food wasn't really a career for South Asian women, but from a young age, I've loved to cook. I've cooked ever since I was three. I've cooked with my mother,” she said.

She recalls how family gatherings and celebrations shaped her understanding of food beyond recipes and ingredients.

“Every weekend there would be a party, or a wedding, or a birthday, or a festival like Diwali, and we'd always have a feast. So, I fell in love with food and community and traditions and the role that food played. And I wanted to be part of that. I never wanted to lose my heritage or my culture.”

Despite her passion, Patel initially struggled to see how cooking could translate into a sustainable career. It was a teacher who recognised her talent when she was 16 and encouraged her to consider becoming a professional chef.

“I never knew that was an option, and then I looked into it, and I did a degree in culinary arts management in Birmingham,” she said.

After graduating, she trained as a chef and spent two to three years working in hospitality. She subsequently moved into product development, working on Indian ready meals for some of the UK's largest supermarket chains.

Her work involved developing familiar dishes such as chicken tikka masala, biryani, chicken korma and chicken jalfrezi for the convenience food market.

“They were great, but something was missing,” she said, reflecting on the ready meals that she had then worked on.

That realisation eventually led Patel to establish her own food consultancy business in 2017. With more than 15 years of experience in the industry, she now advises hospitality businesses and food manufacturers across the UK, helping them develop recipes, products and menus.

Her work spans everything from restaurant operations and menu development to the technical challenges of taking a dish from a kitchen into large-scale factory production.

Patel said many businesses have the financial resources to launch food products but lack the specialist knowledge needed to get the flavours and processes right.

“I help businesses that have the money and the backing, but don't have the skill or the knowledge about cooking. I consult them on how to run restaurants or food manufacturing businesses,” she said.

A significant part of her work involves ensuring that dishes retain their character when produced at scale, rather than losing their identity through commercial manufacturing processes.

“I help them develop factory products. So, how to upscale a curry to come out of a factory. I consult them on pricing, costings, manufacturing, and that can be from a restaurant to a factory.”

Alongside consulting, Patel is keen to pass on her knowledge to the next generation of culinary professionals. When she ran her own food kitchen, she took on young chefs as apprentices, training them in professional cooking and food development.

“I work with younger chefs. I help train them. When I had my own food kitchen as well, I took in a lot of younger chefs as apprentices,” she said.

Her professional journey has also earned her recognition in the UK food industry. She was named the Black Country's Master of Food and received the Midlands' Rising Star award in food, drink and hospitality in 2017. Her second cookbook, The Delicious Book Of Dhal, further reflects her interest in celebrating Indian cuisine through accessible, contemporary cooking.

At SIBF, Patel brought that approach to the Cookery Corner, where she demonstrated how to prepare Hariyali Chicken Kebabs, Crushed Bombay Potatoes and Masala Mutar for visitors.

“Beyond the demonstration, it was also the cultural exchange that has resonated a lot with me. I feel food traditions can travel, evolve and find common ground without losing their roots."

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