Exclusive Interview | Celebrity Chef Kaviraj Khialani
/“To me watching food being cooked since childhood was one of the best things I can ever recall. The aromas,flavors and colors were so very much like a poem I loved to recite”
How did it all start? Your culinary journey
I was at the age of 11 months and coincidentally I was selected to do a print advertisement endorsing a tonic for Healthy Babies - Alvite drops - the name of the tonic, and that was my first pay cheque I earned with glamour attached to it as my posters were displayed all across the country in all nursing homes. So it was a grand start with lights.. Camera.. Action!
I was always a healthy child and I loved eating some of the best foods since childhood. I was found with my mom in the kitchen where she would cook my meals and I would watch, observe and my eyes and smile would approve of the standard recipes were to my taste buds. Growing up, by age of 7 I would help mom in the kitchen assisting her with basic cutting, chopping, cleaning veggies, working in a planned organised manner are some of the valuable basics she taught me in my home kitchen from firstly making tea and coffee.
I started observing, taking notes, and worked my way to cook up my home cuisine Sindhi foods since then and around age of 12 I could even do basic Chinese and a few soups and sandwiches. I would spend my vacations reading cooking books from our home library, try out recipes, experiment with flavors, me and my mom have always been the best of friends since then when it came to cooking we were always very excited to try something different and dish out delicacies!
Coming from an affluent business class Sindhi family I didn't have any godfather in this industry to get me a way up or across, the thinking and mindset of people in those days was not too open for boys getting into catering and food industry. I had the invaluable and great support of my parents who encouraged me to take it up beyond just a hobby into a profession.
I still remember most of my vacations till I passed out 12th standard were spent learning vocational courses like chocolate making, Fruit and vegetable carving, professional icing and cake decorating, sizzlers and party snacks, microwave cooking skills and many more.
Thereafter I got a chance to complete my graduation and my course showed me the way up, I enjoyed my internships and learnt great skills and knowledge from many experienced chefs in our country. Having started up with the Taj group it was indeed a great exposure and a platform to move up.
Kuwait airways offered me to join them at their in-flight catering unit at Kuwait, I took it up as a challenge and went on to perform on a Global stage through one of the worlds best airlines. I always had a passion for sharing whatever I knew about food and I could deliver it pretty well and I also got into food and beverage training for cabin crew while at Kuwait.
Besides I always had a flair for writing on food, I was offered an opportunity to pen down some of my articles and recipes with The Times Kuwait- a premier newspaper.
In India, I started writing recipes and food articles with the mid-day mumbai, pune mid-morning day, the Bombay times, the Indian express, The Asian Age, Intelligent Hotelier, the samachar magazine - manila, express hotelier, woman's era magazine, Beyond Sindh - Hongkong, the femina, savvy and savvy cookbook, Sindhishaan.com, Shaadi.com as well to list a few.
What are your earlier memories of kitchens you worked with?
It was always fun and learning hand in hand, it was my comfort zone, the place I always felt complete with food around me. The Initial few years of course were a lot demanding in terms of time and efforts but I was made for it, was getting stronger day by day and moved up in a very positive way.
From peeling of potatoes and sweetlimes to the cleaning of prawns and garlic, it somehow didn't bore me and I took every stage of that phase as a building block for my future. I always had that zeal to learn more and more of all possible things to do with food and hospitality, I loved asking questions, getting my doubts cleared, a note pad and pen were always with me to ensure I didn't miss a point.
A dish your patrons / guests always loved
Variety of dishes I would say, I loved doing Indian cuisine since the beginning and doing a nice butter chicken was one of my all time hits with my guests, fans and food lovers. Other than Indian dishes some of my desserts like Creme Brulee, crepes, pies and puddings are also some of the most popular ones.
According to you what does it take to be a successful chef?
I think it is very simple
C- Confidence
H- Humbleness
E- Experience
F- Fulfilment
To explain that further, I would say most people might have the knowledge, skill set and ability to do a lot but somewhere an element of confidence is missing at times, be it the communication or a thought process of expression which is so much needed in today's times for a chef to come out of the kitchen as well and sell his dishes like none else could do with s sense of pride.
One needs to be humble towards each and everyone we come across in our day to day lives, arrogance has brought down many a top people is what I have seen and heard therefore it is that element which should never go out of proportion.
Knowing a recipe, learning it from someone, doing it yourself, creating a new one all sound great as needed in our professional careers, but being a chef definitely calls for experience and that is what makes you perfect in what you do and do it over a period of time and that's what your guests come back for! So there are no shortcuts towards being a chef.
Fulfilment, a feel of being contented that yes you have given your very best into each dish, every guest order be it an a la carte or a banquet function. Seeing a happy guest having enjoyed the meal you could deliver to his expectations is according to me the best feeling of fulfilment for a good chef.
As a general note, know why you want to get into this profession, be mentally assured and physically fit as well to work hard in days to come, must have a positive attitude and no egos attached in the package. Have a sense of acceptance of criticism and how to take it positively and work towards betterment, be open to learning new things, be a people's person, don't be scared to come in the front and make yourself visible, read, review, research and rediscover things which will make yourself remembered in this competitive industry.
Your advice to young culinary students
Do not shift your focus once you get into the course, I have seen many students who join hotel management firstly want to become a chef (when asked why? Reply given was I love the way people come up on television and social media and the glamour attached etc) be realistic and think about this, there's hard work, dedication and long number of years which each one of our respected chefs have put into to reach there. You need to be ready for that as well.
It has also been observed that post internships in hotels when students come back to college to continue their course towards 3rd year they start leaving kitchen as their subject for specialisation, this too is surprising ! If you have a goal in place there's no place for diversion and distractions from it. Stay focused stay passionate.
You need to get yourself involved completely into the education you gather, must try recipes at home, use your weekends doing something new, creative and out of the box, read up as far as possible and maximise it through social media channels. Make goals, record them somewhere look at them off and on and work towards them, there will be good days and the Bad days but there's no looking back…Forward is. Future and Passion to Perfection.
Never think you know everything, there is always something that we all may not know, having an open mind receptive to accepting knowledge will be a good gesture.
Also, always come forward take initiative and be visible be it participating at chef Competitions or designing a menu card for a contest or a debate competition, it surely has something to teach you and mould you into a better person.
Tools, equipment, devices you cant do without.
Firstly my books, notes, my dairies with loads of data, recipes, which I love going back to once in a while. A chefs best friend of course is his chefs knife and the entire kit is just so very pleasing and gives us a sense of satisfaction! Kitchen equipments, tools and gadgets are inevitably close to heart be it the food temperature thermometer to cheese slicing machine, tasting spoon to the butchers blocks or the dough mixer they all have a special place in our hearts as chefs.
Which is your favourite Ingredient to work with?
This is not so easy to confess on, I guess it is a white canvas on which we as chefs articulate our passion through colors, textures, flavors and aromas which complement our taste buds to make it a most desirable dish. I love every possible ingredient available but to name one I would say I like to work with Lotus Stem (Kamal Kakdi) we also call is "bhen";.according to me it is a wonderful ingredient to work with and I have loads of recipes designed using it which are incredibly amazing not only on the plate but also on the palate.
Some of the famous chefs you like to follow
It is very difficult to list them down here we have had legends in the Culinary World, some of them whom I have always looked upto are Chef Satish Arora, Chef Jiggs Kalra, Chef Imtiyaz Qureshi, Chef Gordon Ramsay and Chef Nigella Lawson have been a few of many who inspired me. It is always a learning session from each one you come across, meet or read about. There is something special about each chef we can speak of be it their recipes, style and creativity, their way of doing things, their managerial skills, planning perspectives and revenue management etc.
Some books which all chefs must read.
Well we have a number of authors in India and globally too who have shared invaluable information by means of their experiences, recipes, being our guides from the basics to the advanced to name a few I personally have liked reading:
An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey,
Joy of cooking by Irma S. Rombauer,
Larousse Gastronomique,
How To Eat, by Nigella Lawson,
Zaike ka safar by Jiggs Karla and
A Guide to Modern Cooking by Auguste Escoffier.
Profile of Celebrity Chef Kaviraj Khialani
Committed, Competent and Compatible is how he describes himself in 3 words.
A passion towards cooking which grew within him from the age of 7 years and never looked back, aspired him to acquire his basics at home and furthered down by joining professional courses in India and overseas to make him one of country's well recognised successful name in the world of culinary and hospitality.
He is specialised in over 33 types of international cuisines and also loves doing fusion foods to add change and varieties with his touch of creativity and innovation with food. He has been awarded the prestigious "Bharat Vidya Ratan Award" at New Delhi acknowledging his excellence in his field of expertise. In February 2020, he also received The Best Chef Asia Award at the Taj in Mumbai for his outstanding contribution to the field of culinary and hospitality education. His work experience includes Taj group of hotels and Kuwait airways which balances his experience with hotels as well as catering for international airlines keeping in mind the highest possible level of hygiene and quality.
With over 21 years of experience now, he is also known to pen down the not so popular topics via books like Arabic cookery was his first book published in India in 2004, he has also worked on Filipino Cookery, 100 ways with fusion foods, lockdown cooking, quarantine memories with food and the most awaited life of a hotel management student, to name a few. His passion to perfection mantra always keeps him learning each day and working on new ways with ingredients is one of his hobby. He has also been a writer besides an author, has contributed articles and recipes to over 25 publications worldwide with his creative ideas.
Star plus and colors television also invited him to be on their food reality shows. Television advertisements and endorsement of kitchen related gadgets also saw him getting loads of recognition and fan following globally. Hotel and restaurant consultancies, menu designing and presentations, food designer, critic and creative cuisine specialist to many food companies as well has offered him world-class experience in the field of research and development as well.
"I want to be known as one who could always do something different with a touch of class and a twist of taste" are some of his positive and motivational lines to inspire the younger generation to become successful names in the food and hospitality industry.
He has also been a culinary guru, mentor, academician for over 20 years now and wants to be a supportive hand for those who need it the most.
