New Delhi, March 29 -- In 2019, I had the chance to interview Heston Blumenthal for Lounge. The British chef, who owns the iconic three-Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck in the UK, had earned the moniker of a "mad scientist" for his outlandish experiments with liquid nitrogen. It was the era of molecular gastronomy and smoke was a thing in fine dining.

Blumenthal was travelling to Mumbai as part of a premium dinner series. I was told I'd get a one-on-one slot, exactly 10 minutes, to interview him. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. I had watched him whip up utterly bizarre dishes on MasterChef Australia, releasing a puff of smoke and wearing those oversized glasses. One of them included a 92-step dessert that looked like ...