Curry and comedy on the menu

Hardeep Singh Kohli brings his Indian Takeaway to Finchley

Hardeep Singh Kohli is set to bring his Indian Takeaway show to the Arts Depot in Finchley.

The show mixes the broadcaster’s two main skills: cookery and comedy. Singh Kohli begins by ordering a takeaway from a local curry house and throughout the duration of the show sets to work cooking up a curry of his own ready for a taste test done by members of the audience at the end. In the interim, he discusses cookery techniques and stories about food.

“Lots of it is about my experiences from the food industry. I worked in restaurants from being young and you come across all sorts of people and situations,” says Singh Kohli.

The show is tied in with a book, where Singh Kohli explores the history and culture of Indian food from a personal perspective. Can he suggest why the curry we are served in Indian restaurants can differ wildly from that made at home? “Interestingly, when Indians emigrated to the UK, there wasn’t a lot around food wise- you couldn’t even get garlic readily, never mind things like fresh coriander. They made use of what they had- using tinned tomato soup for curry bases. Once you get into the habit of things that work you never get out of it,” he says.

Choosing his main passion from food and being a semi-comedic writer and broadcaster is not something Singh Kohli says he can or needs to do, “It’s like me asking you if you could choose between your heart and your lungs.”

Hardeep’s Indian Takeaway is at the Arts Depot Finchley December 5