Anand was born in Kolkata, India to Punjabi parents. He was initially more interested in music than cooking and performed as a drummer in local rock bands before beginning his culinary career.

 

He attended a catering college( IHMCT Kovalam) (Indian Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology ) in Trivandrum and after receiving a diploma he began working as a trainee with the Taj Group. Anand later left the Taj Group to pursue a career in Bangkok, where he began working at Red, a restaurant that specialized in contemporary Indian cuisine.

 

From there he served as the first chef of Indian descent to intern with Ferran Adrià’s research team at elBulli and also began working at various restaurants in Bangkok, a process that Anand stated was frustrating because the businesses "just didn't want anything different".

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This frustration led him to propose to some friends that he open his own restaurant, Gaggan