'There's love in our cooking': Meet the Uyare head chef bringing 'mouth-watering' Keralan flavours to Leeds

The rooftop restaurant, located on the third floor of Victoria Gate, specialises in traditional dishes from Kerala, south India.

Authenticity is at the heart of Uyare’s offering, with options ranging from delicately-spiced curries to crispy samosas and succulent seafood.

Francis Mundanmany, head chef at Uyare, has had a culinary career that has taken him across the world.

But he was first inspired to cook by his childhood in Kerala.

“In Kerala, there are lots of festivals, traditions, and culture,” Francis told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“When I was younger, I used to go to the festivals and taste the food.

“My mum cooked for the festivals and I was eager to watch her cook. It all started from there.”

Francis credited his mother with teaching him the beginner culinary skills that he still uses to this day.

He said Keralan flavours are a diverse palette, formed by the range of religions and heritage within the Indian state. In the same way his mother passed the cooking style on to him, he now wants to bring it to Leeds.

“Kerala is a mixture of different cultures and this cuisine is derived from these cultures,” Francis said.

“We are showing it to the next generation. We are now handing it over.”

After working in India for a few years, Francis received a contract with a cruise line in Miami. Cooking in a kitchen alongside 56 different nationalities, he gained experience preparing South American, Asian, and European food styles, alongside perfecting his take on Indian cuisine.

Francis moved to the UK 17 years ago, and he has been part of the Uyare team since it was founded last year. For him, Uyare’s unique selling point is that all the food is freshly prepared, which means it retains as much original flavour as possible.

Francis said: “We make everything from scratch. Every dish has different seasonings which we make in-house.

“When you’re cooking fresh, it tastes fresh. It’s not going to lose flavour.”

At Uyare, Francis works in a kitchen of nine chefs who take pride in serving customers meals that taste delicious.

“There’s love and care in our cooking, so we can give the best food as much as we can,” he added.

“I can 100% assure that customers will never be disappointed.”

The restaurant has recently unveiled a new small plates menu featuring dishes such as Masala-fried cauliflower, fried squid, marinated king prawns.

Francis said this change is inspired by Kerala’s street food culture where it is possible to buy various tasty bitesize dishes from the evening to the early morning.

Since Uyare first opened, it has attracted rave reviews and even been a dining spot for Hollywood stars.

But no matter who is dining, Francis has one dish that is his most-loved: the grilled stuffed seabass.

“The seabass is my favourite dish to prepare - it's marinated for four to five hours, stuffed with prawns and vegetables and a seafood based sauce are added to it.

“It tastes really nice - it’s mouth-watering.”