The knives are out
L to R: Ranjeet Bindra, Chef Boo Kim, Chef Kelvin Cheung
YOUR diarist must admit utter shock to hear that
Chef Kelvin Cheung of the noted Bandra seafood restaurant, Bastian, will not be helming its kitchen anymore. Chef Cheung, the celebrity-loving Vietnamese-American chef who made India his home over five years ago, has been replaced by his former ally and sous-chef, Chef Boo Kim. We had also reported a falling out between the two former best friends, following which Chef Boo moved back to the US only to return late last year and open his own new restaurant at Lower Parel. It is sweet irony as Ranjeet Bindra, director of Bastian, issued a note saying Cheung has been let go for personal reasons (his father passed away last month) and that Boo will take over the restaurant as well as the smaller One Street Over. We hear the split has been a rather ugly one. Cheung said he was the face of the restaurant and wanted a seat at the table by being made a partner. But Bindra, the brother-in-law of Kapil and Dheeraj ‘Baba’ Dewan, who own the mother company Alia Hospitality, were not in favour. Moreover, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, Cheung’s friends, were announced to be investing in the restaurant but their money allegedly didn’t show up either. Chef Cheung posted on his social media yesterday that his SIM card has been deactivated too.