“A kabab must melt before it is remembered.”
— Chef Meraj Ul HaqueBorn into the illustrious Qureshi family of Lucknow — butchers and cooks to Awadhi nobility for more than two centuries — Chef Meraj Ul Haque inherited the kitchen not as a profession, but as a birthright. His forefathers cooked for the courts of the Raja of Jahangirabad and the Raja of Mehmoodabad, and the discipline of that royal table still governs every dish he sends out.
His journey began in 1984 at Al Kauser in Delhi, carried him to Singapore, and placed him for over a decade alongside the legendary food czar Jiggs Kalra. Since 2004 he has been the Master Chef of The Great Kabab Factory at Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi, where a repertoire of over five hundred kababs and fifty biryanis is refreshed with the seasons.
To the nation, he became a familiar face on NDTV Good Times' Foodistan, carrying the flag for Indian cuisine. Today, as Director – Culinary at Chef by Choice, he brings that same royal Awadhi hospitality to private banquets and bespoke catering — still, at heart, the man who greets you at the table, one perfect galouti at a time.
From a royal kitchen lineage to a national television stage — a life measured in embers, dum and devotion.
Raised among the Qureshis of Lucknow, whose ancestors cooked for the courts of Jahangirabad and Mehmoodabad. The craft of the kabab was learned at the family sigri long before any restaurant.
Lucknow, IndiaBegins his professional career at Al Kauser, Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri — cutting his teeth on the coal-fired kababs and slow dum that would define his hand.
New DelhiCarries Awadhi cuisine abroad, cooking in Singapore — including a stint at Holiday Inn — and bringing royal Indian flavour to an international table.
SingaporeWorks closely for over a decade with the late Jiggs Kalra — the "Czar of Indian Cuisine" — in the mission to rediscover and codify India's forgotten royal recipes.
IndiaTakes charge of the kitchen at The Great Kabab Factory, Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi — a menu with no à la carte, only the chef's daily edit of 500+ kababs and 50+ biryanis, masalas ground fresh each dawn.
Radisson Blu Plaza, DelhiSelected among India's finest for NDTV Good Times' landmark India–Pakistan cook-off, Foodistan — showcasing the depth of the Great Kabab Factory repertoire on national television.
NDTV Good TimesNow Director of Culinary at Chef by Choice, Chef Meraj shapes menus, mentors a growing brigade and takes royal Awadhi hospitality beyond the hotel — from private banquets to bespoke catering across the capital.
Chef by Choice · New DelhiWon the Gold Medal for his North Indian delicacies at the 6th Chef Awards in 2009.
Prepared the State Function dinner for the Lok Sabha's Golden Jubilee — served to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Represented India on NDTV Good Times' Foodistan, taking the honours in the biryani segment of the India–Pakistan cook-off.
Custodian of a repertoire exceeding five hundred kabab varieties at The Great Kabab Factory — from galouti to kakori.
A master of dum, having crafted more than fifty styles of biryani in the true Lucknowi sealed-pot tradition.
Has cooked in the USA, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and beyond, carrying Awadhi flavour to global guests.
A lifetime specialising in the royal kitchens of North India — and the discipline of running one.
Galouti · Kakori · Seekh · Shami
Lucknowi sealed-pot mastery
The royal table of Lucknow
Rich, aromatic, imperial
32-spice galouti, ground fresh
Seasonal, costed, curated
Concept to opening night
Sigri, tandoor & flow design
Passing the Qureshi hand
Banquets & royal spreads
Reviving forgotten dishes
Five-star F&B expertise
Chicken marinated overnight in hung yoghurt, Kashmiri chilli and roasted spice, then char-cooked in the tandoor until it is smoky, blistered and tender — served tall, the way a showpiece should arrive.
Meat and chana dal slow-simmered, finely pounded and pan-seared to a soft, spiced core — the Qureshi kebab in its most comforting form, finished with a whisper of garam masala.
Broccoli florets bathed in a cheese-and-cream marinade scented with green cardamom, then kissed by the grill — a modern vegetarian showstopper with an unmistakably Awadhi soul.
From the Foodistan arena to national television — the Master Chef in motion.
Four decades of features across national dailies, magazines and hospitality press. Tap any clipping to read it.
Master Chef Merajul Haque comes from a long line of Qureshi chefs and has a long track record of making and innovating kababs.
Indian Wine Academy “Star Chef: The Kabab King at Radisson”
The galouti reached excellent standards; the litchi ka kabab hid a water-chestnut heart beneath a velvety exterior.
Indian Food Freak The Great Kabab Factory, Radisson Blu — Review
Chef Meraj-ul-Haque of The Great Kabab Factory was selected among the top Indian chefs for NDTV Good Times' Foodistan.
Foodistan NDTV Good Times · India–Pakistan Cook-off
The youngest of the Qureshi brothers, he looks after The Great Kabab Factory at Radisson Blu Plaza — heir to two hundred years of Awadhi cooking.
The Taste Makers “The Qureshis of Lucknow”
Cooking is not invention. It is memory — the patient act of keeping a two-hundred-year-old flame alive, one kabab at a time.
For consulting, culinary collaborations, guest appearances, private royal banquets or press — reach out. Every enquiry is read personally.