Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli is a writer, presenter, comedian and broadcaster known for his love of food and hilarious anecdotes. He’s a regular figure on British television, appearing frequently on The One Show and recently presenting a cooking series with Masterchef’s John Torode. His book, Indian Takeaway: One Man’s Attempt to Cook His Way Home (2008) is a funny, conversational adventure depicting contemporary India and a celebration of his multiple cultural identities.
Born in Glasgow in 1969, Hardeep lived with his Sikh family in the UK as his parents emigrated there from India in the 1960s. Indian Takeaway destroys the feeling of ‘otherness’ born from his experiences as a Scot. He says, “I would be asked time and again where home was and they would laugh when I suggested Glasgow. Implicit in all of their interrogations was the accusation that I did not belong, that I was other, that my home was not here. To them I could never be Scottish.”
Hardeep wrote, directed and starred in Channel 4’s Meet the Magoons (2004), which was nominated for a Golden Rose at the Montreux Comedy Festival, and wrote, produced and presented In Search of the Tartan Turban (Channel 4) – which explored his cultural identity as a British-Scottish Asian and won a children’s BAFTA, spinning off into the Channel 4 series, Hardeep Does…
His television career continued successfully with £50 Says You’ll Watch This, Get 100 (CBBC), Loose Ends, appearances on Question Time, Newsnight Review, a celebrity version of The Apprentice, Celebrity Masterchef and Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4. He currently writes a column entitled ‘Hardeep is your love’ for Scotland on Sunday and occasionally writes for The Guardian and The Independent.
At this year’s Port Eliot Festival, Hardeep will be talking about Indian Takeaway and cooking in our Big Kitchen.
“Hardeep has so many plates spinning at the same time. I’d panic if I had as much going on. He used to text me when he was on TV; now he doesn’t have time, he’s on so much.”
Ann McFerran – The Times
Links:
- Interview with The Independent
- Hardeep’s weekly column on Scotland on Sunday
- Hardeep’s Facebook page
Video:
UKTV Food with John Torode
Sport Relief Does The Apprentice
