This is the case with actually most of the chefs is of my generation, whereby we did not choose this profession but the profession chose us.I always wanted to be a nuero surgeon and I was doing my mechanical engineering in Kashmir. I went to join a Hotel management college, thinking that I will have enough time on my hand to prepare for my medical ventures. But then this industry grew on me. My Internship at Taj Bengal changed my outlook and I wanted to be in kitchen and become a chef. My style of cooking is keeping things simplistic. God has given us some wonderful ingredients; just use them in a way that you don’t take away the soul from the ingredient. Don’t complicate the flavours, instead use complimenting flavours. Use pastel colours on the plate; make the food which looks fresh and appetizing. Do not focus on complex presentation; after all you want your guests to enjoy wholesome and nutritious food There are many memorable events and achievements in my career as a chef. I have personally made wedding cakes for Ms Shweta Bachhan and Ms Priyanka Vaderah. Apart from this I have cooked for many dignitaries and bolly wood and holly wood actors. My greatest achievement was authoring 5 books, which are being used as text books in almost all catering colleges in India and few abroad. It was important to me because it gives me immense satisfaction, where I can contribute to the learning and development of young aspiring chefs #FINEDININGINDIAN | 26 Menu wri ting shoul d be simpl e and wi thout any fancy j a rgons. Sometimes the d i sh crea tes a very d i fferent pi cture i n a consumers mi nd and when the food i s presented , i t can l ead to d i ssa ti sfaction. As per me, the menu shoul d sel f-expl ana tory and shoul d be abl e to g i ve the guest the cl ea r understand i ng of the d i sh. The new d i sh i s tried and tested mul tipl e times. We a l so l et the guest experience the d i sh and once we have taken the feedback i nto consi dera tion, we put i t on our menus. To develop a team, you must be abl e to crea te fol l owers who can work for the common goa l s and objecti ves. A team i s devel oped by understand i ng tha t not a l l fi ngers a re a l i ke but each of them has a speci fi c rol e to pl ay. One must be abl e to rea l i se the potenti a l i n each empl oyee and we must g i ve them a l l the freedom to experiment and l ea rn from thei r mi stakes. There a re many pl a tforms ava i l abl e for thi s today, soci a l med i a l i ke FB and I nstag ram teach you so many thi ngs. I a l so make i t a poi nt to a ttend chef concl aves and travel for food and equipment shows. Apa rt from thi s I have to do a l ot of sel f study, because I tra i n chefs for Oberoi hotel s and before I take a cl ass, I need to be wel l prepared September 2019
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