My fabulous Friday: Atul Kochhar

Park and lunch

When the weekend comes around, all I want to do is switch off. My favourite way to do that is by taking the kids [Amisha, 11, and Arjun, nine] to the park, getting some fresh air and then going for a hearty lunch somewhere nice. I’m a chef, but I make sure I don’t analyse the meal or anything. I just enjoy it like everyone else.

Cine buff

Movies are my passion. My wife, Deepti, and I just watched The Hundred-Foot Journey, which stars Helen Mirren and Om Puri. It’s about an Indian family trying to make a restaurant work in a French village. It’s very moving and very funny. Do I see a bit of myself in it? I suppose I do!

Easy-going style

My weekend style is definitely shorts and a T-shirt – I like to be comfortable and casual. That’s if I’m around the house, of course. In London, at this time of year, it’s not a good idea to go out in shorts!

Home cook

People assume that because I’m a chef, I don’t cook at home, but it’s my passion and I spend plenty of time in the kitchen with the kids, showing them new techniques and methods. We eat Indian for most of the week, but Sundays are non-Indian days. Maybe I’ll do a lasagne or a roast chicken or leg of lamb – it all depends on the mood the family wakes up in.

Escaping the city

London is an hour’s drive from the New Forest, and we often go there for a couple of days as a family. It’s lovely, a sanctuary of nature, wildlife and abundance. And it doesn’t matter which season you go in. It’s always different, and always beautiful.

Massage please!

If I’ve had a very heavy and hectic week, I sometimes treat myself to a massage. I like to come out resenting my masseur for a couple of hours, because he’s been so rough. That’s the best kind of massage.