Alex Wahi lives and cooks by the motto “keep it short and simple”. For him, good food means good ingredients, prepared quickly. Alongside the Maharanhi restaurant in Hamm, Westphalia, he ran Germany’s only Indian cookery school with his father. But he only occasionally found himself in the kitchen there. Now, he can be seen as a creative TV chef and is travelling internationally on culinary discovery tours for well-known food chains. In this interview, he tells us why dirty water hot dogs don’t taste good, and what Bollywood has to do with washing-up.
Dosen-Zentrale: Hi Alex, what are you up to at the moment?
Alex Wahi: I’m currently getting ready for the new season at my restaurant.
Dosen-Zentrale: What are you mainly doing at the moment?
Alex Wahi: Even though it sounds paradoxical, I’ve actually used the last few weeks as an opportunity for a fresh start, both personally and professionally. Perhaps it’s time to just do things differently. I’m always torn between the two. On the one hand, there’s my restaurant; on the other, I have the chance to introduce the world of gastronomy and cooking to other ‘target groups’ in a completely different way.
Dosen-Zentrale: You mean through TV appearances and your travels?
Alex Wahi: Yes, exactly. But it’s not about me becoming the next big star in the world of TV cooking. For me, good food simply means preparing good ingredients quickly, or as I always say, ‘keep it short and simple’. I try to take the whole thing in my stride. Not get too bogged down in it. For me, it’s important that our guests – or viewers – see just how good and simple cooking can be, even when it comes to exotic cuisine. Sometimes that means things have to get a bit unusual.
Dosen-Zentrale: What do you mean by ‘unusual’?
Alex Wahi: When I cook an Indian curry for 500 people in a baker’s shovel, for example, that’s a moment like that for me. Good food works just fine without all the glossy frills, fancy technology and starched chef’s jackets.
Name: Alex Wahi
Born: 1985
Mother: German, father: Indian (since 1970 in Germany)
Lives and works in Hamm/Westphalia
Apprenticeship in the hotel trade, different jobs in gastronomy, among others with Frank Buchholz at Steigenberger Hotel in Bad Pyrmont and Golfclub Schlosshotel Münchhausen in Aerzen
From 2008 to 2011 business management studies
He opened his restaurant, “Oskar's”, in Port Andratx, Mallorca, in the spring of 2024.
Dosen-Zentrale: Let’s get back to the roots. When did you start cooking?
Alex Wahi: At home, of course – in my father’s restaurant. I was always hungry as a child. I still love good old-fashioned German ‘grandma’s cooking’ to this day. But roast pork with dumplings and stew aren’t on the menu in an Indian restaurant. But as the guests were always more important to my father (winks), little Alex had to head into the kitchen himself and cook something. I grew up on this mix of red cabbage and tandoori chicken.
Dosen-Zentrale: And then? You studied business management.
Alex Wahi: Yes, I actually wanted to go into international hotel management after my training. But I stayed in the family business for a while and thought about how we could build on that. We expanded the cookery school, then event work at trade fairs came along, and suddenly we were approached by television. At the same time, retail chains were taking an interest in ‘ethnic food’ and asked me for recipes and ideas, wanting me to cook ‘internationally’.
Dosen-Zentrale: This sounds very exciting.
Alex Wahi: It is. Above all, though, it’s varied. I travelled abroad a great deal. I enjoy working with other people and cultures – I suppose it’s in my ‘Indian’ nature (grins). That’s why I always try, whether in my private life or at work, to discover and try new things – on a private and professional scale. Many so-called food trends are often nothing more than hyped-up fads or marketing gimmicks. Much of what’s currently ‘hip’ has been everyday fare elsewhere for decades, or even centuries. Whenever I’m somewhere, I prefer to try the original.
Dosen-Zentrale: Give us an example!
Alex Wahi: Well, not centuries old, but still typical: Dirty Water Hot Dogs in New York, Downtown. Unfortunately, they taste exactly as they sound. Perhaps helpful for survival, but not really good. The trendy copy somewhere in Berlin-Kreuzberg is probably actually better. In stark contrast to that: authentic street food in Thailand. The best pad thai ever. You can’t replicate that.
Dosen-Zentrale: Specifically regarding cooking and your ‘kitchen’. What’s an absolute must?
Alex Wahi: Definitely herbs, spices and olive oil, and I’m also keen on truffles and, unsurprisingly, curry.
Dosen-Zentrale: … and what’s a definite no-go?
Alex Wahi: MSG [Editor’s note: monosodium glutamate] is an absolute “no-go”, even though you’d always expect it in “exotic” cuisine. I could easily do without cream and butter myself – despite “Grandma’s cooking” (laughs).
Dosen-Zentrale: What makes Alex Wahi tick? What are you like?
Alex Wahi: Well, I’m lively – you could also say too impatient. I want to do too much at once. To others, that comes across as either very creative or chaotic. Then I talk too much and make spontaneous decisions that I won’t discuss further. Being decisive is good and important, but not always easy for outsiders.
Dosen-Zentrale: What do you value in others?
Alex Wahi: Honesty and respect without prejudice.
Dosen-Zentrale: And what annoys you about others?
Alex Wahi: In general, or in the restaurant?
Dosen-Zentrale: Is there a difference?
Alex Wahi: When people are fundamentally critical or negative towards anything new, already have an opinion before they’ve got to know you or tried something, I find that annoying. With guests, impatience and a lack of appreciation for the restaurateur or their work are added to the list of downsides.
Dosen-Zentrale: How do you personally deal with that?
Alex Wahi: Basically, in my own way. I don’t put on an act. Anyone who comes to us gets 100% Wahi: totally cool, fresh and laid-back. That’s when the Indian in me comes through. We see our guests more as good acquaintances and friends, for whom we take the time to do something nice.
Dosen-Zentrale: What do you in your free time, for example to relax?
Alex Wahi: I have a walk with my dog. Or I do the dishes, tidy up the kitchen – it’s really true, but with loud music. And another stereotype: I like to listen to Bollywood sounds apart from the current charts till the walls shake.
Dosen-Zentrale: What will be next in line? What are your plans?
Alex Wahi: We have ideas and will see if they can be implemented in the restaurant. A gastronomer knows that he needs a lot of perseverance. It has always been this way – considering working hours, services and general conditions. Today even „small gastronomers“ have to be more managers and number geeks rather than working behind the counter or over a hot stove. I hope the atmosphere in gastronomy will be more relaxed in the future. This also means that visiting a hotel or restaurant returns to be something special and people respect and appreciate us, the „hosts“.
Dosen-Zentrale: Thanks a lot!