Cyrus Todiwala OBE, DL
• Celebrity chef
• Restaurateur
• Michelin Bib Gourmand
• Saturday Kitchen
• Zest Quest Asia
• OBE & Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London
Overview
Cyrus Todiwala OBE, DL, is a highly respected chef, TV presenter, author, educationist and entrepreneur. Alongside his wife Pervin, Cyrus is the chef-proprietor of the acclaimed London restaurant Café Spice Namasté. The original Café Spice Namasté was the longest-running Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in the world – the award for establishments offering ‘good food, good value’.
A familiar face on television, Cyrus has appeared on numerous cookery shows and sells a successful range of condiments and meal kits under the brand Mr Todiwala’s. In 2000, Cyrus was awarded an MBE for services to the restaurant and catering industry.
Restaurants
Cyrus originally trained at the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces chain in India, where he became executive chef for eleven hotel restaurants. After moving to London with his family in the early 1990s, he opened Café Spice Namasté to great critical acclaim. Cyrus’ innovative approach to Indian cuisine, which incorporated Goan and Parsee-style dishes, is credited with reshaping Britain’s then-limited expectations of South Asian food.
In 2011, Cyrus and Pervin opened a new restaurant, Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, in Canary Wharf’s Lincoln Plaza London Hotel. In 2021, having impressed countless critics and inspired generations of Indian chefs, Cyrus and Pervin moved Café Spice Namaste from its Whitechapel location to the East London Docklands.
Television and media work
Cyrus Todiwala is a UK celebrity chef who appears regularly on TV and radio. He is a frequent guest on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen and BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, and has presented his own cookery shows such as The Incredible Spice Men: Todiwala And Singh, made with Tony Singh in 2013. In 2021, Cyrus featured on Channel 4’s Snackmasters competition – and won!
Cyrus was awarded BBC Food Personality of the Year in 2014. He was also named in the foodie section of the Evening Standard‘s list of London’s one thousand most influential people in 2010. This saw him listed alongside other TV star chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver. He was first listed in Who’s Who in 2011.
Mr Todiwala's range
In 2010, Cyrus released a range of pickles, chutneys and cooking sauces under the brand name Mr Todiwala’s. Today, the brand is still lauded for its unique offerings, such as the award-winning Wild Boar Pickle, Great Taste Award-winning Date and Tamarind Chutney and bright magenta Parsee Wedding Pickle.
Largely in response to the pandemic, in 2020 Cyrus launched Mr Todiwala At Home, offering meal kits and restaurant-style food boxes. Today, Mr Todiwala’s offers a wide range of condiments, spice blends, oils and meal kits, as well as cookery courses.
Charity, sustainability and social work
Cyrus is a staunch advocate for education and training, as well as social responsibility, sustainability, buying British, minimising waste, and healthy eating. He has won several environmental awards, including the Sustainability Champion Award from the London Chamber of Commerce.
In line with the Parsee ethos of philanthropy, Cyrus and his wife Pervin have devoted much of their time and energy to missions they believe in. One of these is Zest Quest Asia, a student chef competition which they founded in collaboration with the Master Chefs of Great Britain. Zest Quest Asia aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of classical Asian cuisine and raise its profile as a future career.
Cyrus is an Ambassador of The Clink Charity and Patron of the British Lop Society, Ocean Ambassador for Marine Conservation Society and Ambassador for the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, among others.
Cookbooks
Cyrus has written six cookbooks, including the bestselling Mr Todiwala’s Spice Box: 120 easy Indian recipes with just 10 spices, published in 2016. Cyrus’s latest cookbook, Simple Spice Vegetarian, was published in 2020. This cookbook, which again uses just ten spices, serves up delicious vegan and vegetarian recipes for everything from breakfast and brunch to simple suppers.
Other awards and titles
Cyrus has been awarded an MBE for his services to education and training and an OBE for services to the catering and hospitality industry. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, a Founding Member of the Guild of Entrepreneurs, and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Cooks.
Social network and links
Cyrus’ WEBSITE
CONTACT US ABOUT Cyrus
- +44 20 8846 0966
