"After college you have things only in your head, not in your hand (skill). You need to work hard with honesty to bring ideas into fruition" - Chef Sharad

“After college you have things only in your head, not in your hand (skill).  You need to work hard with honesty to bring ideas into fruition.”

— Chef Sharad

How did it all start? Share your culinary journey with us

First of all, thank you Mr.Bedi for interviewing me. If you talk about my journey I can say it started from my childhood as a guy from a Middle-class family where mom and dad both used to work so they both used to come home late in the evening and I used to cook something for myself, eat and sleep.  This way I started and learnt some dishes from mom itself while watching her cook. Later this turned into help her cook some dishes like dal and rice for her before she came back from work to make her happy.

Later I turned this liking for cooking into a profession by completing a Degree in Hotel Management. Started mu culinary journey with Ambassador Sky Chef Mumbai for flight kitchen then Taj Lands End, Bandra, Orchid Hotel, Hilton Dubai, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria Sheraton.  My 1st position as an Executive Chef was a local property then Oman as a Group Executive Chef then here currently in Angola.

What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in

What I can say that your hard-work will always answer you. Just keep going and making people happy.

A dish your patrons/guest love

For me I never had experience where I make something and guests don't like it.  Almost 98% food I make guest like it due to likeness from childhood then passion towards cooking.

A dish that you love but do not have on your menu

As a chef I love lots of dishes around the world but we can't create a menu with all the dishes so i always learn new and always approach management to change the menu every 6 months.

I study and invent new menus and dishes I like.

What according to you does it take to become a successful chef?

Hard-work, passion, honesty, team work, training, and experience.  

Why I said all this is coz a lot of people and even students of hotel management think, that once I finish my degree I will wear coat and sit on chair and become boss or manager but in reality this field is different. After the degree or diploma you need to start from bottom and only experience and honesty and hard work will take you higher.

What advice would you give to a young culinary student?

As I said earlier don't dream that after your school finishes that you will be a manager or directly a Executive Chef, no way.  

After college you have things only in your head, not in your hand (skill).  You need to work hard with honesty to bring ideas into fruition.

What instruments/ equipment/devices you cannot imagine working without?

For the current world I can say 1st is your knife, then all modern equipments and now days system. You can't work without systems and hospitality software.

Your favorite ingredient is…

Salt and spices; without this you can't feel the taste.

Name chefs you find amazing or chefs work you admire

Chef Gordan Ramsay and Chef Vikas Khanna.

What books should every chef read?

haaaa. I'm planning to publish my book so I would prefer everyone read my book!

Four Seasons announces nine planned new hotel openings in 2019

The coming year will mark several significant new openings for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, with the debut of nine new hotels and resorts around the world, plus the continued expansion of its residential portfolio.

• Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Bengaluru at Embassy ONE

• Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Madrid

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Montreal

• Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences One Dalton Street, Boston

• Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center

Additional future projects recently announced include hotels, resorts and residences in Dalian, China; Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Caye Chapel, Belize.

IHCL Partners With Essec Business School To Launch Full Scholarships For Deserving Employees Annually

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia’s largest hospitality company has today announced the launch of a scholarship in partnership with the ESSEC Business School in France as part of its continued commitment to bolstering learning and development for its employees. As part of the initiative two deserving IHCL employees each year would be sponsored for a 21 month long fully paid MSc in Hospitality Management at the ESSEC Campus in Paris. This initiative is launched for a three year period and may be renewed further.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL said, “We have always believed in creating a strong talent pipeline by enabling and empowering our employees with the best of learning and development initiatives. Our collaboration with ESSEC Business School is a vital step in that direction and in line with our vision to create future leaders for the global hospitality industry in general and build a talent pipeline for IHCL in particular”.

A pioneer of business-related learning since 1907, ESSEC is rated amongst the top business schools in the world.

Professor Peter O’Connor, Academic Director, Essec Business School said, “We are delighted to collaborate with a prestigious company such as The Indian Hotels (IHCL) for the initiative, which brings in a fitting blend of Indian hospitality and international standards of excellence. We look forward to a brilliant partnership aligned with ESSEC’s mission to respond to the challenges of the future.”

The program is a mix of rigorous academics and hands-on field experience which includes various areas such as E-Commerce, Real Estate & Development, Entrepreneurship and Luxury Services Management. Besides the full tuition fees, IHCL would also cover the accommodation and living expenses for the two selected employees.

Exclusive Interview | Hemant Gupta, General Manager, Holiday Inn Express Kolkata Airport - PreOpening

Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?

January 2003, was the year when my journey as a Hotelier began with The Trident in Jaipur as a F&B Associate. It has been 17 years now and have been fortunate to work with some great Indian & International Brands in the Country. A Hotel Management Graduate, from Oriental School in Kerala, my journey took me to 7 different states of India: Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu & West Bengal; and considerable years of my experience has been with Hyatt.

My Managerial role started in 2007 with Le Meridien in Jaipur, as a Restaurant Manager, to lead the Coffee Shop, Bar & The Indian Specialty. To further deepen my knowledge in F&B, I took the role of Banquet Manager with The Leela Kempinski in Kovalam, in 2008.

In 2010, my First Pre-Opening assignment knocked my door, for Hyatt Regency in Pune, as Events & Conference Assistant Manager. 2 years later, in 2012, came my second Pre-Opening assignment with Hyatt, to launch Hyatt Place Brand in India, in the City of Ruins, Hampi.

Pre-Opening assignments was something which I started enjoying and came in 2014 was my Third assignment, for opening of second Hyatt Place in Udyog Vihar, Gurugram Delhi NCR, as an Assistant General Manager. To broaden my knowledge in Hotels, I switched roles and headed the Rooms, Human Resource and Engineering functions of the Hotel.

My love for Pre-Opening Hotels is never ending, and hence now I am in my Fourth Pre-Opening Assignment, and my First stint with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), to open a Beautiful and Smart Holiday Inn Express Hotel, opposite the Kolkata International Airport, which will make the Future Travelers #morethanready and focuses on Simple Smart Travel.

Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?

Everyone has their own definition to success. If one has to be successful, then one has to keep adding value; to yourself, your guests and your stakeholders.

Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?  If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?

I look for morals and values; the person is made of. I look for the value addition that a person can do in my team, create balance and foster teamwork. One has to be real and be true to themselves, to work with me.

Editor: What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel/unit?

Hotel Exposure Trainings are extremely important, and I can only recommend that all Hotel Management students should spend equal amount of time in all the departments. It’s too early to make up a mind even before the start of internship, that which department they want to spend maximum time in. It eventually burns them out. This is the only time you get to work in all areas, so why not make best use of it.

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

Environmental Sustainability and the fight to reduce Carbon Footprints, is on the rise like never before. This is going to be big game changer in Hospitality, as the impact can be immediately seen on your bottom line.

While all the Hotels are moving into this direction, this can be evidently visible in the newly built upcoming hotels, which are now focused on using natural resources by creating efficient designs to reduce. Holiday Inn Express Kolkata Airport is one of the newly designed hotels of IHG, which makes great usage of natural lights by having large windows at lobby and even back of the house areas. IHG has taken Environmental sustainability to higher levels by making Carbon Reduction as one of our Core KPI’s.

Editor: Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the tech that goes into creating your guest experience? 

We have always looked at Technology for providing great guest experiences. At IHG we have been looking at creating value for our Stakeholders and Owners as well. We use cloud based technology platform, IHG Concerto, which is seamless combination of our Guest Reservations System and Price Optimization Software. This continue to strengthen our enterprise and enhance revenue delivery system.

To further strengthen our guest experience, our WiFi Guest network, IHG Connect, is providing seamless connectivity. In future, a guest would have the ability to stream content on in-room smart TV’s.

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

1. I would look at ways on how we can remove Sugar sachets from Café’s & Restaurants. A sugar sachet has a huge impact in environment which we don’t see, as it easily misses the eye. Every sugar sachet, in addition to paper, also has a plastic layer inside to prevent it from moisture. This needs to go out, just like the plastic straws. If we can have Salt & Pepper in crusher, why not Sugar.

2. Remove the concept of Sunday Brunches from Cafés &Restaurants. While it is an important part of F&B Business, however if someone has to do a research on this subject, the kind of food waste that we generate in just on one Sunday is huge. We are wasting resources way too fast.

Holiday Inn Express Kolkata Airport - PreOpening

Editor: What can we expect from your hotel in the coming year?

In my current assignment, my Hotel, Holiday Inn Express Kolkata is in its Pre-Opening stages. It’s a smartly designed 125 Keys property, nestled in the centre of a 4 acres of beautiful landscape and just 800 metres of walking distance from the Boarding Gate of Kolkata International Airport.

The plan is to establish this property as an Airport Hotel, which will be used by Transit travellers moving in and out of Kolkata, and also as a great Business Hotel to the likings of all our Corporate Guests, with us being only 15 minutes from the IT Hub of Rajarhat and 20 minutes from Sector V.

The Hotel also features our All Day Dining Café, Great Room, serving light bites and beverages. In coming months, we foresee Great Room, operating like an Airport Lounge. It will be a quick stopover for all our Transit guests to take a quick bite or have candid farewell meetings before a final goodbye, as Wi-Fi is always Free and Boarding gates are just a 5 minutes’ drive or 10 minutes’ walk, whatever a Guests chooses to prefer.