Originally from Penang, Mano Thevar is the Chef owner of the recently awarded two- Michelin-starred modern Indian restaurant Thevar, in Singapore. Traditional flavours and heritage are preserved by giving them new life through incorporating new culinary techniques. With his culinary training in the French tradition, Thevar has reinvented Indian cuisine, artfully infusing classical French techniques with Japanese produce and Malaysian Indian flavours to create a novel fine dining experience. Thevar stresses the importance of ingredients, emphasising seasonality, as well as craftsmanship derived from patience, care and attention to detail in his quest to reinvent a cuisine that is over 8,000 years old.

Chef Thevar began his career at Guy Savoy and Waku Ghin in Singapore, before leaving for Netherlands to further his professional skills at the two- Michelin-starred Pure C in Zeeland. Thevar was launched in 2019, bringing to fruition the Chef’s life-long interest in remixing influences, textures and flavours, and his experience working with different cuisines and techniques.

Chef Thevar constantly strives to expand his knowledge on Indian food and has conducted visits to the Indian sub-continent, experimenting with ingredients such as spices that are more prevalent in this region and less common in Singapore and Malaysia. Whilst the focus at Thevar is more on North Indian food, Chef Thevar is currently experimenting with tangier spices of South Indian food.