The winning dishes were redolent of Indian kitchens and the winner went by the very unBritish name of Atul Kochar. So it was perhaps a bit ironic that the BBC should crown him “Culinary King of South-East England”—for the second year in succession. On May 4, at the end of a gruelling final against celebrity chef Stuart Gillies, the panel of three judges on the BBC’s prime time cook-off programme, Great British Menu, announced that Kochar, without doubt, was the best of the 14 in the competition.

These top UK chefs were battling it out to win the chance to cook at a four-course banquet to be hosted in Paris by the British ambassador to France. It’s a dinner where the high and mighty of the French food world will have the opportunity to taste the best in British cooking—and perhaps revise their rather derisive impression about the isle’s cuisine.

Jamshedpur-born Kochar, 37, had taken on media darling Garry Rhodes in the final last year. This year he was up against a chef who worked alongside the legendary Gordon Ramsay. “It was tougher this time,” says Kochar, “Stuart has travelled the world. He has a French wife, has worked in America, has been to Asia and understands flavour more than anyone I have met in this part of the world.”

It was Kochar’s second course that clinched the win. It was a witty take on the Englishman’s favourite fish and chips: a crisp-fried John Dory fish with grilled tomato chutney and served with cucumber salad and crushed peas. He confided, “I thought of Machchi Amritsari with roasted tomato chutney.” Prue Seith, one of the judges, said, “This fish really comes alive when you eat it with chutney.”

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