

He eventually sold his restaurants as he felt that as a chef he hardly got a chance to cook. Over the next seven years, he opened three more.

Thumma opened his first restaurant, Sizzle India, in Chicago in 1998. He is married to Ragini, who is also a chef, with whom he has a son. He eventually went on to get his diploma in Hotel Management from IHM Hyderabad. His desire to cook increased when his mother was bedridden with a temporary illness and he had to cook for himself. His first dishes were dosa and scrambled eggs. His mother would engage him in the kitchen so that he would not annoy his siblings.

His interest in the kitchen began when he was just 7 years old.
