Chef Gurinderjit Singh

When it comes to the heart and soul of IndiMex, there is one man to thank for it all… chef, restaurateur and king of curries himself, Gurinderjit Singh, or ‘GJ’ to his friends and that’s pretty much everybody! While talented and creative are words often used to describe GJ, it is his passion for cooking and dedication towards his craft that keeps him pushing the envelope in the culinary world.

During 1989 GJ was awarded his chef license from Hattori Eiyo Senmon Gakko in Japan – one of the oldest and most reputable culinary colleges in Japan. Since then, GJ has received many accolades, including having worked as a chef for one of the best restaurants in Japan and having his recipes published in fashion and lifestyle magazines – just to name a few.

But GJ is not one to brag. In fact, quite the opposite… taking it all in his stride GJ is genuine and humble, a completely down to earth bloke. You soon realise that, for him, it’s not about his achievements, but instead it’s about a pure love for his craft. Often saying that he feels blessed to have the opportunity to spend every day elbow-deep in the kitchen and doing what he loves so much.

After spending many years in the kitchen, you have to wonder from where he manages to pull the inspiration for his next dish. GJ insists it all boils down to his love of food. He feels he is most at home when cooking up a storm. As for what keeps him going…

“I love seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces after they’ve just eaten one of my meals. That alone is the best reward in the world,” explains GJ. “I’m just driven by the endless opportunities that cooking brings to the table. They say true creativity is only limited by one’s imagination. Well my imagination is wild and the ideas can’t be put to rest. Whenever I think my creative juices have dried up I go to sleep and another idea (for a recipe or menu) pops into my head. I think it will be like this until the day I die. It’s just the way I function. My brain never sleeps.”

GJ is a trained Mexican chef, yet, being of Indian heritage, Indian cooking comes naturally too. With a lifetime of experience spanning both cuisines plus his burning desire to always push expectations and test culinary boundaries, one day he thought, “Why not mix the two together and create an Indian-Mexican café?” It was something which had never been done in Australia before. Until now.

He didn’t want to create just any old Indian-Mexican eatery! His vision was simple! He wanted to take people on a journey by creating food and an experience that was unlike any other they’d ever had before. Thus, IndiMex was born!