India, May 29 -- A lot has been said about the new generation of chefs in India. But what's not been said enough is how different they are to the generations that went before them. Quality comparisons are always tricky, because the older generations did not have access to top ingredients (either because they could not import them or Indian farmers had not started growing them), were not really familiar with wine, and catered mostly to a smaller audience that was less demanding. So yes, restaurant food today is far superior to anything that has ever been served in India before, but that is partly because of circumstances.

But there's one thing that is indisputable: This generation has stopped being needlessly competitive. The chefs like a...