© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
digital print
Courtesy of Kurma dasa
Born in England in 1952 Kurma dasa moved to Australia with his parents in 1964. In the early 1970s he became a member of the Hare Krishna movement and travelled India many times learning regional cuisines by assisting cooks in temples, restaurants and private homes. By 1980 Kurma dasa was head chef at Gopal’s Vegetarian Restaurant in Swanston Street , Melbourne , specialising in Vedic (traditional Indian) cooking. Producing 1,800 meals a week made Gopal’s one of Australia ’s best known vegetarian eating places. Since the mid 1980s Kurma dasa has been teaching widely. His 1987 television series Cooking with Kurma enjoyed great popularity, spawning the much re-issued Great Vegetarian Dishes. Kurma dasa has since hosted two television series screened in 46 countries . He currently lives in Melbourne with his family, writes and presents gourmet vegetarian master classes.
Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.
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