Sayaji Pune appoints Chef Yashwant Sopne as their new Executive Chef

Pune, March 2023: Sayaji Pune is pleased to announce the appointment of Chef Yashwant Sopne as the new Executive Chef. Having started his journey as a Commi 3 chef in restaurants, he got his first entry into star properties with Ginger Hotel as a Commi 1 chef. He has come a long way since then. With his vast experience, Chef Yashwant has developed a strong repertoire to deliver a memorable experience to his diners.

With a penchant for cooking, Chef Yashwant uses the kitchen as his blank canvas to paint it wild with his unstoppable passion and innovative flavors that will linger on in your memory.

With almost 23 years of experience, Chef Yashwant has gained great exposure in the culinary field. Prior to joining Sayaji Pune, Chef Yashwant has been associated with several renowned hospitality brands such as Intercontinental hotel group, (IHG) Hilton Worldwide, Accor Hotels, Marriott International, The Orchid Hotel (Asia's first five-star Ecotel Hotel), Citrus Hotels & Resorts, Taj Group of Hotels to name a few. His last stint was with Ramani Hospitality as their Corporate Executive Chef.

Chef Yashwant has hands-on experience in Indian Cuisine Speciality, Italian, French, and Fusion food. Along with the kitchen, his responsibilities include taking care of guests’ special requests, monitoring hygiene and safety at work, curating special occasion menus, supervising the entire operation of restaurant & banquet events, and overlooking overall culinary operations. Chef Yashwant will also be accountable for maintaining high standards of discipline among his associates and mentoring them.

Commenting on his appointment, Chef Yashwant said, “I am delighted to join the team at Sayaji Pune & I look forward to elevating the dining experience for guests and developing a great rapport with my team”.

An accomplished culinary professional, Chef Yashwant Sopne looks forward to creating magic through innovation and experimentation with dishes to deliver a memorable dining experience for guests. The Sayaji Pune team is stoked to have him on board.

Jitendra Nakhwa has been appointed as the Executive Chef at InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort

With over 20 years of culinary expertise Jitendra has played an instrumental role in innovating new culinary dishes, spearheading the culinary teams and related operations

Jitendra started his culinary journey with Grand Hyatt Mumbai as Commis Chef and then soon moved to London with Hilton London Gatwick as Commis Chef. Thereafter, he also worked in USA with Master Chef Jose Gutierrez and learn nuances of French fine dining.

In 2007 he decided to come back to India, working with brands like Hyatt in Pune and Hyderabad as Executive Chef. Jitendra is not new to IHG as he was also the Executive Chef at Holiday Inn Cochin in 2017.

His last assignment was with Radisson Blu Dharamshala Resort as the Pre-opening charge of overall Food & Beverage Service & Production.

His forte includes food styling, restaurant food concept creation and menu engineering with a strong focus on improving service while preserving the highest levels of quality.

GRAND HYATT GURGAON APPOINTS HERWIG KNAPEN AS EXECUTIVE CHEF

Gurgaon, February 2023: Grand Hyatt Gurgaon has appointed Herwig Knapen as its Executive Chef. Chef Knapen will be leading all the culinary outlets in the hotel and will be responsible for overseeing all food and beverage operations including menu ideation, procurement, personnel management and catering.

With over two decades of accumulated culinary and leadership experience, Executive Chef Herwig will plan and execute an expansive repertoire of menus to deliver memorable experiences to Grand Hyatt Gurgaon's guests. His strong leadership skills and zest for innovation in the kitchen, enables him to curate a smorgasbord of flavours and delicacies which will appeal to the varied tastes of our guests.

Executive Chef Herwig began his career as a pastry chef in Vietnam and has worked with a collection of the world’s best kitchens and luxury five-star hotels such as JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Shangri-La in the US, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Grand Hyatt Gurgaon, he was an Executive Chef at Hilton, Belgium. With a culinary certificate; a certificate for marzipan, chocolate pastries, and candy; and a culinary degree in pastries & bread, Executive Chef Herwig brings a wealth of experience with him.

Besides perfecting his culinary skills, Executive Chef Herwig focuses much attention on F1 Racing and his pet cat Ameri.  A multilingual, he is fluent in speaking Dutch, Belgian, English, German, Romanian, French, and Spanish.

About Grand Hyatt 

Around the world, Grand Hyatt hotels bring travel dreams to life by celebrating the iconic in small details and magnificent moments. Located at the crossroads of local culture and global business within major gateway cities and resort destinations, each Grand Hyatt hotel is uniquely designed to be a captivating destination within a destination. Grand Hyatt hotels deliver welcoming and elevated service, first-class accommodations and an abundance of options within a multicultural backdrop of dramatic architecture and bold and vibrant design. Grand Hyatt properties boast inventive restaurants, luxury spas, fitness centers, and business and meeting facilities.  

Siddarth Noronha joins Sheraton Grand Pune as Executive Chef

With over 16 years of culinary expertise, Chef Siddarth has been spearheading myriad kitchens across leading brands

Blending the fine line between tradition, innovation, and authenticity, Chef Siddarth has a flair for inventive cooking, retaining simplicity at the core of every recipe he curates. With over 16 years of culinary expertise, Chef Siddarth has been spearheading myriad kitchens across leading brands.

In his role as the Executive Chef at Sheraton Grand Pune, Chef Siddarth will be overseeing the entire functioning of F&B offerings across banqueting, in-room dining, and outlets.

In pursuit of his passion for cooking, Chef Siddarth completed his Diploma in Hotel Management Catering Technology from Rizvi College. He started his career as a trainee with the Taj Mahal Hotel and moved on to work with international hospitality brands including Hyatt Regency Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Goa, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, and Sofitel BKC. During his tenure at Novotel Hotels and Resorts Goa, he conceptualized the utilization of unused spaces at the property to create three new restaurants, including the signature restaurant ‘Vero Cibo’.

In his leisure time, he enjoys keeping up with the constantly evolving culinary world and exploring new ways to imbibe innovation. An adventure seeker, he vouches for bike rides as a sure remedy to restore energy.

Hotel Le Meridien Nagpur is pleased to announce the appointment of Amit Chakraborti as Executive Chef

Chef Amit brings with him 17 years of culinary experience to his new assignment. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Sous Chef at Lemon Tree, Premier Mumbai.

Chef Amit started his Culinary journey at Hotel Intercontinental The Grand Mumbai as Management Trainee, then he move to different flagship hotels of India like Sahara star Mumbai, Oakwood Premium Mumbai, Hotel Tunga Regenza Vashi India, Grand Hometel Sarovar Group of hotels, Courtyard By Marriott Pune and Hyatt Vastrapur.

He did his Diploma in Food Production from Rizvi College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology - Mumbai

Holiday Inn Bengaluru Racecourse announced the appointment of Ajit Tiwari as their Executive Chef

With a meritorious experience of around 20 years, Chef Tiwari has worked with renowned hospitality brands across the globe including, various Marriott properties, Taj, Hilton, Hotel Claridges, The Lalit Srinagar & Kolkata and P&O Cruise. In his last assignment, Chef Tiwari was associated with The Lalit Golf &Spa Resort as an Executive Chef. His strong foundation and seasoned experience in culinary operations as well as avant-garde gastronomy makes him the perfect fit to spearhead the diverse Food & Beverage offerings at Holiday Inn Bengaluru.

Chef Ajit Tiwari has commented, “I am extremely excited and thrilled about my role in this budding F&B-driven hotel. I’m looking forward to curating more nouvelle and customer-led experiences for this brand.”

His’ immense credibility and promises to shoulder responsibilities in order to carry out all the daily operations of the restaurant and hotel kitchen. Bringing on the table years of experience, he is all set to ensure promptness, freshness and an exclusive variety of dishes keeping in mind hygiene policies and examining the equipment’s for cleanliness and so on.

On this occasion, the General Manager of the hotel, Jaidev Dutta has quoted, “his incessant curiosity, willingness to experiment and an extensive knowledge of global culinary trends will help create an unparalleled dining experience at our all F&B outlets in the hotel”.