Pravin Sharma

[Andy Lynes]

I was shocked to hear that chef Pravin Sharma recently passed away. Pravin was head chef of Silk restaurant in London and the 2006 Roux Scholar. He was being treated for Leukaemia when he died aged 30 earlier this month.

I met Pravin twice, once at a press reception where he presented some dishes inspired by his Roux Scholarship stages at Olivier Rollinger and The Fat Duck and again when I interviewed him for an article about rising star chefs. On both occasions I was struck not only by his obvious culinary talents, but also by his openness and enthusiasm. I was convinced he had the makings of a great chef and that he was on the way to finding an original voice that would combine his knowledge of traditional Indian cuisine and his new found passion for modern haute cuisine.

He had a certain charisma about him, but was also winningly modest. No doubt he had ego and ambition like any other successful chef, but he kept them well hidden and was a genuine delight to talk to.

Heston Blumenthal wrote warmly about him earlier this year in a Guardian feature on mentors and proteges and you can read more about him on the Caterer blog.

Edited August 20, 2007 by Andy Lynes (log)

[Bapi]

Thanks for posting this Andy. I too learnt of this recently and was deeply saddened to hear that he had passed away. I remember being rather pleased that another "Indian lad" had won the Roux Scholarship last year, following in the footsteps of Sat Bains and being of Indian extraction myself.

A tragic loss- 30 is no age for a man to pass.

[Matthew Tomkinson]

It was such a shock to hear that he had passed away, i only knew him through the scholarship and we had spoken a few times on the phone before and after he went to France to work. I met his new wife earlier this year and we had agreed to meet up and have dinner at Silks one day. I am sorry we never got the chance. A real loss.