A Conversation With Chef Jayesh Kumar About His Watches

Chef Jayesh Kumar named his renowned Brooklyn restaurant Lore. It means stories. His highly anticipated new spot, Folk, means people. Fittingly, each timepiece in his watch collection is an artifact from a story or person. Chef Jay, himself a person with stories, left India for Oman before a 30-year tenure in Switzerland’s international gastroverse. “I’ve seen many countries, many different flavors,” the culinarian told me. How he artfully marries locavorism and wanderlust is uniquely him; Lore’s duck confit is locally sourced, yet cooked in garam masala duck fat.

I toured Chef Jay’s watches, an assembly as eclectic as his menus. Like his career, the collection is community-built: friends helping friends, romance and heartbreak, and chance encounters. Love nice watches but not their price tags? This Michelin-renowned cuisinier taught me that community and gratitude are the most meaningful currencies.

KMT: 

What do you wear when you’re cooking?

Chef Jayesh Kumar:

I have this Big Pilot IWC, a bronze, limited edition one out of 1500, if I’m not mistaken. The kitchen is very hot. It’s got a lot of elements, so the patina on the bronze changes because of the steam and heat. It gets these beautiful markings. 

KMT:

I love that. Since your food is about storytelling, it’s as if your stories are being infused into that watch.

CJK:

Yes! I love all Indian restaurants, by the way. I love what other people are doing… but you have to innovate. You have the butter chicken, for example. I’m making a butterless butter chicken (Note: he uses an exquisite cashew crème). 

Anyway, I have about 80 watches, but I mainly wear this. Before I left Basel, this guy asks me to do a 150-people dinner. It went well, but he goes bankrupt. I call him and say, “I sent you an invoice, I have no money, I need this money to leave Basel.” He tells me he can’t help me. That’s fine. If that’s how it is, there’s nothing we can do. Two years later, I receive a package: this IWC with a note, “Thank you. You’re the only one who didn’t ask me for money. I appreciate this more than anything.”

KMT:

Could you tell me about any other watches from such chance encounters?

CJK:

I used to wear the Hublot Ice Bang in the kitchen because of its tungsten bezel. One time, Jean-Claude Biver, when he was CEO of Hublot, passed by my restaurant. I was standing outside, smoking cigars, whatever. He says, “I always pass by during Basel World. You guys are amazing. Who’s the owner?” I say, “I am,” and I was wearing this watch. He’d never seen a chef wearing Hublot and offered to give me a handwritten warranty. 

Then, three years ago, I wore it in a pool in Montauk with the crown out. I went to get it fixed, but figured the handwritten warranty wouldn’t make a difference because Jean-Claude Biver was no longer there. They checked with the head of Hublot America, and I got a crazy deal for a whole restoration—new movement, everything.

Also, my friend knew a wealthy lady who fell out with her husband and wanted to sell his old watches. All I had was $6,000. “It’s not about the money, Jay,” she said. “I can’t have these watches.” So, I got the Submariner Kermit, a Daytona, and a Breitling. 

KMT:

Wow. Deals of the century.

CJK:

See, it’s about connections. It’s about gratitude.

KMT:

Tell me about this Rolex. 14k? Only for the American market, right?

CJK:

Yes, they only made it for America—very unique. I received it when I got my citizenship. It’s also 1967, my birth year.

In 2018, a girl called Daria messaged me. She said we met 11 years ago, she ate my food and loved it, and asked me to cater and do some VIP dinners for an art fair called Scope. I did. Then, I fell in love with her. She fell in love with me… After 30 years, I left Switzerland and came here, where she is. 

My wife got me this watch for my oath ceremony. It’s very special. The only dress watch I wear.

KMT:

Let’s look at some of these uncommon pieces. Vogard?

CJK:

Vogard Chronozoner. The founder invented this new technology. Instead of pushers or a crown, you change the time zone by adjusting the bezel; you can go from Karachi to Yukon. Vogard closed, but the founder sold the technology to IWC. The IWC Timezoner uses the exact same technology.

KMT: 

You have the original.

CJK:

I have the original. Also, I’m always looking for watch straps. My friend who makes straps offered to make me something nice. The brand is Strapestry. I tell him what I want, I pick from samples, and in one week, it’s here. It’s good quality. Expensive strapmakers can take four to eight weeks—and the attitude. I don’t need that.

Chef Jayesh imparted to me some pearls of wisdom. First, he believes microbrands are the way forward. “With a $5,000 budget, you can have seven microbrand watches—a watch for every day.” Second, it all goes back to people. Share your enthusiasm at a watch meet-up or join a collecting community; you never know what tips and recommendations you’ll gain. Chef Jay even hosts the Gotham Watch Club at Lore. “As a chef, I can’t always afford expensive watches,” he admits. “Often, I’ll do a good job for a brand and get a deal or a gift. I love this business because it’s about people… I have what I have because someone believed in the way I am, so I always say be kind, be respectful. It’s about community.”