Alumni Spotlight: Dipna Anand

23 January 2024

When she first came to UWL, Dipna Anand knew she wanted to work in food and hospitality, but she didn’t know what that would look like. Now she’s run her own cookery school, written books, opened restaurants and appeared on television. Read on to discover how she did it.

Hospitality runs in the Anand family, as Dipna’s grandfather opened up the first Brilliant restaurant in Kenya, which he ran with his four sons and seven daughters.

Everyone in Kenya knew of the Brilliant, and my granddad would cook for thousands of people, including the Maharajas. He was a celebrity chef of his time.”

Her father brought the name over to the UK and opened up the Brilliant restaurant in Southall. As a small child, Dipna was taken to the restaurant to do small jobs like laying table cloths and stack glasses. Watching her dad do front of house and control the kitchens inspired Dipna to pursue a career in the hospitality industry.

One of the secrets to our success is that, even though the chefs may change, the recipes never do. My dad’s always been the main chef, so he’s kept the spirit alive. Him and my mum are the two people who have made me the person I am today, and today they stand beside me to help me achieve all of my goals. For example, the reason I’m so proud of my books is because it was always my father’s dream that I would publish one someday.”

Dipna’s food education started when she took Food Technology at school, winning an award from the British Nutritional Foundation for her project in low-fat Indian cooking.

That was the first time I knew I was going to be successful in this food subject, and everything really started from there. I applied to UWL because I knew I wanted to continue studying food and hospitality, and when I got to the University I just loved it.”

Winning a scholarship due to her impressive grades, Dipna went on to do a Masters degree, continuing to cook in Pillar’s Restaurant and learning from her professors, including Michael Coaker, whom she credits as one of her role models.

During her Masters, Dipna also started teaching undergraduates, which eventually encouraged her to start her own cookery school. From there, Dipna’s career has snowballed into a series of major successes.

Everything kind of happened so one thing led to another. I started with the cookery school, then my first book was published in 2014, and a second book in 2017. After that I started selling my own range of products: we do spice tins, aprons, masala jars and things like that, which can be found on our online shop.

The restaurant also gained a lot of publicity when I started doing TV shows like Saturday Morning with James Martin, as well as series with Gordon Ramsey and Mary Berry. I’m still looking to grow the industry. We had a pop up at Somerset House in London and now we’re looking to open a second one in Milton Keynes. There’s a lot on the horizon.”

One of the biggest challenges for Dipna is keeping everything fresh as she comes up with new recipes. This was especially true during the pandemic, when she was posting a recipe a day on her social media.

It’s very difficult, especially in today’s environment. You’re competing with others in the same field, but there’s always something new you can do. The problem is, with the cost of living, labour costs, electricity costs, it’s all very challenging for us in the hospitality industry.”

All of her success, Dipna suggests, is down to her willingness to grab any opportunity when it presents itself:

You have to start from somewhere. I started from scratch, regardless of the fact that my dad has a restaurant. I would jump in and do porter jobs, take on whatever came up.

While I was at university I had no idea where I wanted to end up, and your path can take you in all sorts of directions. You start to realise your potential as you grow, so keep your paths open. You might know what field you want to work in, but be open to opportunities within that field. Everyone starts from point zero and works their way up.”

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