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What happens when Chet Sharma, one of the UK’s top chefs and owner of contemporary Indian Michelin starred restaurant BiBi, is introduced to the British Library’s original culinary manuscripts of the Mughal Empire by leading culinary historian Dr Neha Vermani? The result is a rich conversation about the history, evolution and legacy of Mughal cooking, and a menu of dishes inspired by the original sources. Join Chet and Neha in conversation while tasting some of the recipes the manuscripts inspired. 

Included in Food Season Big Weekend Saturday or Weekend tickets, or available to book as a single session. Discounts available for over 60s and BL Members and half-price tickets for students and under 26s  

Food Season Big Weekend Day or Weekend Pass holders please note that entry to this event will be subject to venue capacity and early arrival is recommended. 

BiBi is an award-winning restaurant led by chef-patron Chet Sharma. It is a progressive restaurant serving dishes inspired by ingredients and memories from the Indian subcontinent. BiBi draws on the years Chet has spent cooking and sourcing ingredients for some of the most esteemed Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, whilst also embracing the full multicultural span of Indian cuisine. BiBi was GQ Restaurant of the Year 2022, won Opening of the Year and placed at no. 5 in the National Restaurant Awards 2022, was Squaremeal’s Best Restaurant in London 2022 (and has placed in the top 10 every year since), and won Menu of the Year at the 2022 Cateys. 

Chet Sharma’s culinary intrigue, coupled with his academic and scientific interests, have made for an impressive and expansive career in hospitality. During his university studies, which ultimately led to a PhD in physics from the University of Oxford, he worked part time at a number of London’s leading Michelin-starred restaurants, including Benares and Locanda Locatelli. After discovering a passion for hospitality, he went on to work at two Michelin-starred Mugaritz, Simon Rogan’s Umbel Restaurant Group, two-starred Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall, and the late, also two-starred, The Ledbury. In 2017, Chet moved to become Group Development Chef at JKS Restaurants – with whom he eventually opened BiBi in September 2021. 

Dr.Neha Vermani is a British Academy Newton International Fellow at the Department of History, University of sheffield. She is a historian of Mughal South Asia and the early modern Islamic world. Her work lavishes attention on material culture with a particular focus on food practices and builds conversations between medical and environmental humanities, gender and religion studies, and histories of emotions and senses. Her work has been published in various academic journals and is also widely available on public digital platforms.  

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