Meet Dev Biswal – a man on a mission to tempt the taste buds of discerning diners far and wide.
Biswal is an acclaimed British chef but one who has several impressive strings to his bow. He is also a prime example of how the spirit of entrepreneurship can succeed over all else, including the double whammy of a crippling global health pandemic and economic crisis.
Centrepiece of his operations is “The Cook’s Tale,” an award-winning modern Indian fusion restaurant in the fine Kentish city of Canterbury, well known as the ‘setting’ for Chaucer’s wonderful Canterbury Tales.
The name Cook’s Tale is, in fact, taken from one of the book’s characters, the apprentice Perkyn Revelour, who is “rather fond of wine, women and song.”
The resto’s name is ironic given that Perkyn was also known for selling rotten meat infested with flies and maggots – a model Biswal most certainly does not follow.
His Anglo-Indian restaurant offers modern Mumbai dining and, as a “hyper local culinary journey”, is a sort of homage to Chaucer’s C14th anthology.
Dev’s dishes showcase the area’s finest, sustainable local products (and producers) with many of the ingredients sourced from within 30 minutes of the resto’s kitchen.
This, and the sheer quality of the cuisine, is one of the reasons the resto has received a very impressive array of culinary accolades, including being the only entry for Kent in the new British Indian Good Food Guide where it was named as one of the Top 100 Indian restaurants in the country no less.
The venue also received a Travellers’ Choice Award 2024, from TripAdvisor, based on 2,000 customer reviews, placing it in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide, quite an accolade. It has also retained its place in the prestigious Harden’s Guide 2025 where entry is determined by subscriber reviews. Comments included: “On top form” and “Never fails to deliver interesting and delicious food at reasonable prices.”
That’s not all: it also features in the new Good Curry Guide which describes the iconic Canterbury establishment as, “Much vaunted … showcasing the best of the abundant sustainable, hyper-local local produce, with high levels of originality, flare and deft spicing. Regularly changing seasonal menus.”
The resto has emerged into the New Year after a particularly busy festive period where Biswal personally served a spectacular 20-course signature tasting menu, with rare and exotic ingredients including white truffle, Beluga caviar, and Koli Wada lobster.
Aside from the seasonal offerings, there is a regular a la carte which, currently, features customer faves such as lamb cutlet, pulled lamb ‘cigar’ and slow cooked lamb shoulder on the bone, all served with a succulent sauce of piper chaba, also known as ‘Chui pepper’ and called the forgotten culinary fire in Indian cuisine. It has an intense and earthy flavour and perfectly accompanies this dish.
According to Frank, the resto’s friendly purchasing manager, another dish that goes down especially well with diners here is the vegetarian thali (a vegan option is also available), served with butter paneer, black chickpea masala, Bengali roast potatoes, onion bhaji and homemade pickle.
The very welcoming Frank also says that the ‘catch of the day’, which is cooked in Himalayan salt, is another best seller on the card. This is served with a sauce of coconut, ginger,masala potatoe and crab samosa. The fish is cut into a steak with a single bone in the middle which reduces wastage and is more sustainable than filets.
Starters on the fab menu include mushroom gujiyas, fried dough pockets filled with sweet or savour fillings; a veggie street food platter, including vada pav, an iconic street food burger-style dish from Mumbai and dosai, a South Indian crepe that is rich in carbohydrates and proteins (healthy food is something Biswal wants to promote).
There are also some “specials” to look out for, including the 2-for-1 Sunday Roast, served every Sunday until 4.30pm (from 1 January-28 February).This gives you the chance to share a Sunday roast for two at the price of one. The roast comes with an Indian twist and includes mini dosa with spiced potatoes & onions,corn-fed chicken supreme, roast potatoes, veg, onion bhaji, yorkshire pudding & gravy followed by rose & vanilla crème brûlée.
Look out too for its exclusive 12-course Valentine’s Day tasting menu, served on 14 February.
Highlights of this include jumbo tiger prawn with garlic, herbs, and parmesan, herb-crusted wild hake with creamy coconut sauce and milk chocolate delice.
If you cannot make it in the evening try the 2-for-1 set lunch menu which allows two people to enjoy a 3-course meal for the price of one and all for just £39.95 (Available 1 January-28). This includes cauliflower Manchurian butter chicken with chana masala and vanilla crème brûlée.
Full credit for these and the other equally mouth-watering offerings must go to the Moroccan-born head chef and his hard-working team in the kitchen.
With their help, it is easy to see why Biswal has received national awards and recognition in all the major food guides for his unique and innovative food menus.
The venue, located close to the iconic Canterbury Cathedral which attracts scores of visitors from all over the world, not least Belgium, is bathed in soft and comforting lights and, while it is decidedly up market dining at its best, this all comes with a certain cosiness that is sure to endear it to newcomers as well as regulars. Service comes with a smile here and not forgetting the terrific local pianist who plays live in the restaurant,all adding to what is a thoroughly memorable dining experience.
But there is more to Biswal than his clever culinary work. In addition to being an award winning chef he has developed a “tourism arm” which seeks to promote culinary tours to different countries around the globe.
The “Cook’s Tales Holidays” is the travel arm of Biswal’s restaurant in Canterbury and organises such trips.
During the health pandemic Biswal reassessed his ambitions and sought an enhanced work/life balance in order to free up time to create more dishes and develop other business interests.
The result was his gastro tours arm, taking groups to overseas and domestic destinations to learn how to prepare local dishes and about the history and culture behind them.
He told this site: “For me, the only way to understand a country’s cultural history is through its food and meeting the people who produce it. Because we are passionate about food, travel and supporting local businesses our adventures, using local guides, are designed to showcase the best of each destination, visiting local markets and food producers, with an intimacy that you won’t get with the mass tourism of large-scale travel companies.”
Next up is an 11 Day culinary tour of his native India this month followed,later in the year in October, by a similar 8-day foodie tour to Croatia which, he says, aims to showcase the beauty of Croatia, its people and its Mediterranean produce. Also in 2025,Biswal will welcome his first group of in-bound visitors to the area to join his personally curated ‘Kent Experiences’ of local food-based experiences.
Biswal himself grew up in India before moving to London via Dubai. In 2006, he opened the Indian Princess in Margate which renamed The Ambrette, featured in all the country’s top restaurant guides, including Michelin, AA, Good Food and Harden’s.Dev was resident chef on Channel 4 TV’s ‘Superscrimpers’, showing how to prepare gourmet meals on a budget.
Awards include Taste of Kent Best Restaurant; Morrisons magazine’s Best Indian Restaurant; the Cobra Good Curry Guide Best Restaurant in the South East, and, in 2019, he was named Asian Chef of the Year at the Asian Restaurant Awards.
In mid-2019, Biswal resolved to create an exceptional small group tour, led by himself, for those who share his enthusiasm for food and culture, back to his native Odisha in India. Regrettably, the 2020 pandemic thwarted his plans. However, once feasible, he redesigned his tour to incorporate destinations closer to the UK, starting with Croatia and then Morocco, both tours proving to be tremendously successful.
So, as can be seen, the multi-talented Biswal has several strings to his bow.
But, whatever type of culinary journey you choose to take – be it to his wonderful Canterbury resto or one of his booming foodie tours – you are unlikely to be disappointed.
The Cook’s Tale, 14-15 Beer Cart Lane, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2NY
T: 0044 (0)1227 200 777 www.thecookstale.co.uk
