His tweet was responded with furious reactions where people who accused him of being an Islamophobe. Following such reactions, the chef accepted that his tweets cannot be “justified” and that they were made in “the heat of the moment.”
His tweet read, “I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many.”
He wrote another tweet where he apologised saying, “I would like to apologise unreservedly to my Muslim friends, the Islamic community and everyone I have offended with my recent tweets. They were insensitive and wrong. My work and my restaurants are defined by a passion to unite cultures through food, love and understanding. I have let myself and my colleagues down. I am upset and sorry for the pain I have caused and ask for your forgiveness.”
Chef Atul Kochhar ran award winning restaurant Rang Mahal inside the premises of JW Marriott since 2012.