Chef Kaviraj Khialani has been with the food and hospitality industry for 25 years now, he is an iconic name known in his field of international culinary arts- hospitality management & education sector. His passion and zeal to achieve nothing but the best and continued dedication and hard work over the years has kept him a class apart and made him achieve number of awards, citations, recognitions & awards at both national and international level. He is certified by the Swiss hotel management school, American & Irish Universities as well besides being an author- academician- advisor to a number of hospitality companies, colleges & universities across India sharing his quality experience and knowledge in the benefit of the younger generations.
What inspired you to become a chef and how did your culinary journey begin?
Reply- My culinary journey goes back to my childhood times when I was just a couple of years old and would love to see my food being cooked in my home kitchen, my mom would prepare all my fondest dishes like noodles, macaroni, fried rice, fried chicken, pizzas and more! It was the interest which developed since then watching food being cooked which attracted me and I felt like trying my hands too on the basics of cutting- chopping, slicing, shredding, dicing etc which I learnt at home and it was since then the interest for cooking kept growing from a mere hobby to finding its way to a full-time profession. Though it was not an easy phase of life to get there, there were tough times, hard days and unpleasant experiences as well along the journey but if one is focused in life nothing can shake the determination and desire to achieve something! I grew up mastering the art of my home cooking plus Sindhi cooking and then Indian cuisine, taking it one at a time was helpful as we say that too many cooks spoil the broth! After having completed my higher studies, professional courses, internships and industry exposure the want to achieve grew even stronger and harder. There was no looking back since it was the one and only plan I had in mind and heart and when the interest to learn and grasp gets visible it also receives appreciation and rewards. Ever since i started my internships I would be appreciated and be made to set examples for the others which would not just motivate me to do better but also inspire others to follow the track and path towards betterment. From five-star hotels like the Taj group to international airlines like Kuwait Airways, flight kitchens, food companies, consultancy and beyond kept the graph growing higher with time.
Can you share some highlights and milestones from your career as a chef?
Reply: becoming a chef was the goal but becoming a chef of repute, class and creative ideas was the higher aim in life since the start. I always loved experimenting with the basic foods and the ones I ate daily too. For instance, a usual baingan ka bhartha Indian style would be revamped into an Italian fusion kachori dough, fried and served with a trio of dips like cheesy chili, makhani pomodoro & hara bhara pesto. And when these kinds of new innovations would be done, they would be tried and tested on family members, friends and neighbours, the reactions would be a mixed bag of emotions from wow to ok and to not my types! The idea was to look at feedback from various age-groups etc in order to make things more acceptable and realistic from the cooking point of view. So, there was always something running at the back of the mind that how to make a particular dish look-sound-taste and feel different! Of course all this happened with a lot of practice and things did go wrong as well many times before perfection was achieved. A few milestones would be a number of VVIP functions which would take place in the hotels during work which would call for new ideas, new ways of doing classic stuff, how to impress the crowd a little by making a few changes here and there in the recipes. The best part was the smile, happiness and sense of satisfaction which I would see and observe on the faces of my guests which was so very heart touching and a little appreciation often went a long way! On the other hand, it was also challenging to handle the not so easy guests, who are very particular about what they want on the plate, dealing with these situations were always challenging but still fun! The best part was the Kuwait airways experience where we had to dish out aroun12- 15k meals per shift of 9 hours with loads of specifications and special meal requests etc for flights of various types and configurations from the air-bus category to the 777 boeng aircrafts plus the amiri flights of the ministers etc. the pressure would mount to no limit at times to meet deadlines but I still loved and remember every bit of the experience when I look back.
What is your cooking philosophy or approach when it comes to cooking as a chef?
Reply- to me cooking has always been like a work of art which curates from a visionary thought to being passing through changes in its forms and looks. Finally, being delivered on a plate which resembles a canvas on which colours from the palette find their perfect combination and balance which is all set to satiate and please the tastebuds! In simple words, cooking to me is a comfort zone like no other task in the world, it is a great stress buster and a canvas for me to paint up and create wonders with ingredients and cuisines to surprise my guests and get me a sense of satisfaction upon getting a positive review and feedback on my food! Looking at it from a philosophy point of view, its all about creating a balance and being able to express thoughts and ideas in the pan which can entice the palate and offer a pleasant experience.
Are there any particular culinary traditions or cuisines that have influenced your cooking style?
Reply: to me my home food, my Sindhi cooking has always been an inspiration. The fact that I started learning this cuisine first at home during the early days it has always had a backing on my mind and when it comes to innovation too, I started working on this cuisine first. Cooking and creativity go hand in hand for a futuristic and wanna be famous chef! So did it happen in my case. Dal pakwaan canapes, sindhi koki bites with trio fusion dips, sai bhaji lasagne bake, sindhi kadhi shorba, dal vadi aloo baingan stew, sindhi- tex mex fusion tomato curry with 3 bean pulao to name a few. Besides, I have always been also fascinated by Filipino cuisine as well since childhood having grown up eating the popular delicacies like tortas, adobo, pancit, buko salad, kaldereta, lumpia’s to name a few. Innovation with a mixed bag of tastes and flavours has been pretty exciting for me.
How do you stay creative and innovative in the kitchen, constantly coming up with new recipes and flavours?
Reply: When passion takes over everything else in the world nothing can keep you satisfied unless there’s some spice & spark to keep up the spirits on a high! Cooking and creating new recipes to me has been second nature since around 3 decades now, hence it just comes naturally. Whether its looking at a menu card of an outlet or having a particular dish dining out at a restaurant the creative cap has always been whisking around something innovative with my elements to build up the excitement and raise that eyebrow with surprise that – wow, that sounds amazing, lets give it a try! For the very fact that today’s food lovers and connoisseurs are open to trying new ideas, experiments it is indeed requirement of the hour as well to be always one step ahead of what others think. I remember during the lockdown time, there were limited resources available and hardly any ingredients were on hand on a daily basis to make fancy food for the plates, but still it came as a challenge for me to mix-n-match, creating combos, working with few ingredients yet dishing out something really mouth-watering was a good thing to do which also made me compile my book of lockdown cooking- 101 ways with ease and compatibility!
Can you share some tips or advice for aspiring chefs who are looking to excel in the culinary industry?
Reply: Be Yourself with a Difference! These few words simply say and mean quite a lot. Being yourself being the foremost important tip to excel in food and service industry, you need to be good at what you do with integrity and a passion to serve. Many people join culinary and hotel management courses and degrees with a thought and mind-set that it is too easy and to become a chef its all about knowing how to cook, which is wrong! There is a lot that takes a professional to differentiate between a cook and a chef. A few important qualities needed to succeed here include time-management, dedication, good communication, good planning, having strong basic’s, being able to convert thoughts into actions while in the kitchen from reading a recipe to making it just like it should be. Having a stable hand, being able to deliver the same quality at all times. Being open to customer feedback, expectations and being able to satisfy the needs of the guests to create great dining experiences. An honest advice to all budding professionals has been do not expect to be something overnight, do not be in the illusionary world thinking that upon completing a course one becomes a celebrity chef, since social media has been at times influencing the young minds too! Being realistic and making it work, working with a mission, aim and ambitions can be achieved with a little patience!
What do you consider to be your signature dish? Or the dish you are most proud of creating?
Reply: Well, it can’t just be one! There are a number of them since a few of them touched the top of the charts on popularity levels which include the Pasta Dum Biryani, 21 ways of serving a desi dal khichdi, global desi parathas with 11 flavours of different cuisines wrapped in one paratha! Some of the other recipes which have been ever popular include Indiana palak paneer lasagne, schezuan boondi & chicken tikka- vodka gol guppas, indo- chini methi aloo Manchurian canapes, Mexican Mini Masala Dosas with pepper olive sambhar and filipino coconut tadka chutney. For the sweet tooth lovers, Indo- American Mishti Doi pudding with Cookie- caramel crunch, Chocolate coated modaks stuffed with moong dal-peanut halwa served with paan ki rabdi. Layered firangi mithas with saffron- khus and orange kheer laced with nutty crumble motichoor! These recipes have been served to number of guests across the globe at various occasions and have gained tremendous positive feedback and were much appreciated too!
Are there any specific ingredients or cooking techniques that you enjoy working with the most?
Reply: initially when I was learning the basic’s of the various cuisines out of the 33 plus which I happened to master, the emphasis was on the cutting-chopping and pre-preparation of the ingredients in order to achieve maximum possible results at the end of the cooking processes. Later as things moved by the importance towards plating and presentation grew more.
I have always loved working with fresh produce, from the farm to plate concepts, enjoy having hands on fresh herbs, edible flowers, crispy fresh produce out of the farms to list a few. Coming to a few of my all-time favourite veggies’ lotus stem or kamal kakdi is one of those on the top charts along with green peas, snow peas, artichokes, asparagus, zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, Pak choy etc to name a few. Talking from the cooking techniques point of view I enjoy healthy cooking methods like stir frying, steaming, poaching, roasting, grilling, pan searing, simmering, oven cooking etc depending on the recipes and the output required. When it comes to Indian cooking, Dum- slow cooking and simmering work best for me!
How do you ensure that your dishes not only taste great but also have an appealing presentation?
Reply: “the eyes eat before the palate does”- we have heard this over the years and it truly is a fact. The food on the plate could be anything from around the world using the best of the ingredients and cooking methods applied etc but if it does not have the right way of being visible on the plate it would not make any sense! Plate presentation means a lot, for the simplest of the dish could be made to look fascinating and attractive to the guest and the cameras! In today’s times we have seen one very common observation which is capturing food coming in front of us and taking photos from various angles and posting them on social media platforms and creating stories from them. This was not the case until few years back which truly indicates that its not just dressing yourself with the best of style and fashion but its also the well styled and designed food on that plate which needs to be appreciated and acknowledged by the eyes and our cameras before being relished until last bites! The trend of modern plating today is not just the standard white plates but also a little rustic and holistic at times. Plates, platters, bowls, serving equipment’s have become very innovative from using various textures to finishes and materials beyond just glass and tiles it is also to do with banana leaves – bamboo etc too with a touch of innovation and it does work wonders! I like to do a mix- n- match of classics to contemporary in my plating to meet and suit the needs of all age groups keeping it simple, not to over confuse the guests!
Can you tell us about any memorable or challenging moments in your culinary career?
Reply: there are lots in the memory card- well refreshed and all of them on top of the charts- makes me look back – laugh at them – wondering that how wise we become with time! One of the incident which takes me back in time is while with hotels. Here I came across a guest who ordered a pao bhaji specifying he is pure Jain and has not consumed garlic since birth ever. Being a five star hotel the order was well executed by my chefs and was presented artistically at the right temperature etc to offer a perfect dining experience of the dish sitting in a five star hotel. After having eaten half of the pao bhaji this guest complaints that there is garlic in it and that he was very upset and didn’t want to eat further. The complaint was then handled by me where I happened to hear out the guest first completely and sympathize totally of what he was going through but once he was done I had just one question to ask him and which was sir, “if you have never touched, eaten and felt garlic in your life as you said, how do you know that there was some in your pao bhaji? This left a very awkward expression on his face and somehow he just turned away the topic saying that he thought there was some and quietly continued eating the entire plate and moved to his dessert”! this was one of the so many situations encountered over the years. My point of mention here would be that one should think twice before trying these kinds of stunts with professionals like us in the food industry who do not really wish to offer any unpleasant experiences for the guests unless someone is really sure of the facts, we would be surely open for discussions.
How do you approach balancing flavours and textures in your dishes to create a harmonious culinary experience?
Reply: the word balance is a very inclusive one and it has a very meaningful approach from the culinary point of view. In my opinion, a dish or a recipe should be able to Convince- Connect & Cooperate with the consumer which in our case is the guest! The foodie who has just read the menu card and read up a nice fancy sounding dish has made up an impression about the same as it comes in front of him in the next few minutes. Which means that the dish has to be well expressed not only in words but also justify itself as it appears to the guest too. my approach has always been on the 3 C’s as above. To prepare the dish in a convincing manner being able to have a connect with the guest on the plate and to ease and cooperate with the guest in order to being enjoyed purposefully! There have been cases where chefs present food on a very attractive plate but the doubt in the mind which arises is where to start eating from? The plate looks too very confusing or not in sync with the guests’ expectations. These plates are truly the low on feedback ones. At times I have seen the guests asking the server that where is the real stuff which has to be eaten since the garnishing is so very elaborate on the plates, the real content has to be looked out for. Therefore, putting it all in a nutshell I personally believe in creating colourful gastronomic delights well balanced, composed and full of stories to envisage the reality!
Are there any current food trends or ingredients that you find particularly interesting or exciting?
Reply: Well, yes, I do have a few which impress me and a few of them not totally but I am always open to experimentation and learning more about them. To start with, the most classic one remains the ayurvedic trend of cooking- a 5000-year-old system of cooking food so very interestingly and effectively. The benefits of which too are well proven in history. We have also heard of Sattvic Cooking- yet another cooking style which works very close to being natural and wholesome which has also kept me inspired. The newest ones we hear of today are the gluten free diets, the vegan concepts of eating, the Keto diets, Intermittent fasting trend of eating and staying fit. What has also gained a lot of news in recent times is mock meat, this too has its own plus and minus. While some people prefer to eat the natural red meat, some wish to change-adapt to the no-meat yet meaty textures on their plates, this of course is a very personal choice. A while back we also heard and saw the air frying equipment’s which came into the market to impress a number of audiences by highlighting no frying yet having fried stuff with no guilt! This did not really impress me much since in my opinion it is not right to murder classics. If one wishes to have a samosa or a vada pao- the real taste and flavour will be in its real method of cooking which is deep frying, If one wishes to be so very diet conscious then ideally one should refrain from eating such foods rather than being deprived of reality and getting pacified by something not so very interesting.
