Chef Koushik S.

Chef Koushik S, popularly known as “The Mad Chef,” is one of India’s leading culinary consultants, television personalities, and hospitality entrepreneurs. With over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, he has built a reputation for transforming ideas into successful restaurant brands through innovation, technical expertise, and operational excellence.

In 2003, during a Reliance event, his then employer, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, introduced him to legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan as “The Mad Chef.” The title has remained synonymous with Chef Koushik’s fearless creativity and passion for pushing culinary boundaries while respecting the authenticity of traditional cuisines.

Over the course of his career, Chef Koushik has conceptualized, developed, and consulted for more than 375 restaurant and food service brands, ranging from cafés and bakeries to quick-service restaurants (QSRs), casual dining restaurants, fine dining establishments, cloud kitchens, hotels, bars, and specialty food concepts across India and overseas.

In 2006, he founded Eatitude Consultants, a full-service food and beverage consulting firm dedicated to providing end-to-end solutions for hospitality entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, Eatitude Consultants has helped businesses transform ideas into scalable, profitable, and sustainable brands through strategic planning, culinary innovation, and operational excellence.

Alongside his consulting career, Chef Koushik has established himself as a familiar face on Indian television. He served as a Judge on Season 1 of MasterChef Tamil (Sun TV) hosted by Vijay Sethupathi and has appeared on several popular culinary programmes, including MasterChef India Tamil (Sony LIV), Cooku with Comali (Vijay TV), Top Cooku Dupe Cooku (Sun TV), Masala Express, Thamizhagathin Samayal Champion (Jaya TV), Kwatle Kitchen (Colors Kannada), and made a special cameo appearance as a judge in the feature film Annapoorani.

Today, Chef Koushik continues to mentor aspiring chefs, restaurateurs, hospitality professionals, and food entrepreneurs while creating restaurant concepts that combine culinary excellence with commercial success.

The Making of the Mad Chef

Chef Koushik’s culinary journey began at the age of five. Inspired by the adventures of Asterix and Obelix, he recreated Cheese Fondue at home. That successful experiment marked the beginning of a lifelong passion for food.

After completing school, he pursued his professional culinary education at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Bengaluru. He entered the hospitality industry during a period when Indian diners were embracing global cuisines and evolving dining experiences, allowing him to work across a wide spectrum of food concepts.

From neighbourhood bakeries and cafés to luxury restaurants, modern Indian cuisine, traditional South Indian restaurants, Pan-Asian concepts, and large-scale hospitality ventures, Chef Koushik has contributed to almost every segment of the food service industry.

His philosophy is simple: great food should inspire people, and great restaurants should be creative, operationally efficient, financially sustainable, and built to last.