Exclusive Interview | Chef Rana Dominic Gomes, Area Chef South, Royal Orchid Hotels
/“A good chef doesn’t have to be a popular celebrity, even a small south Indian café chef prepares delicious dishes which people stand in a queue to get hands-on, I feel is successful in a way of its own.”
How did it all start? Share your culinary journey with us.
I belong to a family of Chefs, my father and all my relatives, my brother, uncle, cousins, brother-in-law and now even my sister-in-law is a chef. So after my schooling, I joined Taj Gateway as an Apprentice, in 1993, in 1995 I joined The Oberoi Bangalore, and from there I moved to Le Meridian, and Le Notre by Accor, in the Middle East. I came back in 2004 and joined the Royal Orchid Hotel
What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in
It sounds funny now, in my initial days when I used to come home with cuts and burns, my father used to say that consider your wound as a medal, and one day you will remember your hard days in the kitchen and you will respect your profession because 30 years back we were not glamorized like we do today
A dish your patrons/guests love
I have experimented with many innovative dishes, few were very successful and few were not, but the most successful was Orange Kulfi, Kulfi is set inside the orange shell, and is the most popular, recently we served this to the PM on his visit to one of our Hotels.
A dish that you love but do not have on your menu
I love simple food most of the time, and the special ones that I love are on the menu, we make a menu for guests, and I feel guests should be the prime focus, the dishes that I like are not necessarily that my guests also will like. Yes, but sometimes I do suggest and prepare for them,
What according to you does it take to become a successful chef?
What is a success, if a chef owns the chain of restaurants, appears on TV, wins awards becomes a celebrity chef. In my opinion, to own a chain of restaurants a chef has to be a businessman, to appear on TV, and judge a reality show, one must be an Actor, with good looks and good communication.
To win awards one must have hard word dedication, good PR, and contacts. A successful chef is recognized if you have achieved all the above, but a good chef doesn't have to be a popular celebrity, even a small south Indian café chef prepares delicious dishes which people stand in a queue to get hands-on, I feel is successful in a way of its own.
What advice would you give to a young culinary student?
It might sound dramatic but it's very true, I would use a line from Raj Kumar Hirani directed by Aamir Khan, “Success Ke Peeche Mat Bhaago, Excellence Ka Peecha Karo, Success Jhak Maarke Tumhare Peeche Ayegi”.
Don't run after success, pursue excellence and success will follow you.
If food could talk, which dish on your menu would have the most interesting story to tell?
In Royal Orchid the company where I work, we have a restaurant called “Tiger Trail” it has interesting stories behind the concept, our Managing Director Mr Baljee started this restaurant in the early 80s inspired by his expedition to all the tiger reserves in India. He was the first to start open open-heart concept in the restaurant.
Tiger Trail was the first restaurant to start Chola Batura in Bangalore, Tiger Panja Kebabs, Barra Kebab, Matka Murgh, and still we have all these dishes on our menu. So if food can talk these dishes are the ones that can tell the stories of how it was introduced 40 years back and still survive even though they passed through so many hands the recipe and taste remain the same.
As an Executive Chef, have you ever had any funny or bizarre requests from guests that you managed to fulfill?
There are many funny moments, rather I would say “weird requests”: Eggless Omelette, cheeseless pizza, Chicken Biryani without chicken, Dal fry without Tadka, yes we served all these just by removing and adding a few ingredients.
If you were a vegetable, which one would you be, and why?
It depends on I am grown in which country, in India, coriander to enhance the dish In Europe- Tomato, soft sweet and goes well with most of the dishes.
Can you share a wacky kitchen mishap or memorable culinary disaster that you turned into a hilarious learning experience?
I was in Middle-East, preparing a dish called muhammara made with red bell pepper and tomato, after cooking chopped walnuts had to be added, and the moment I added it changed its color from red to black, and no one would tell me why. My Arabic colleagues would laugh, finally, I succeeded, by cooling the dish, then adding the walnut.
As an Executive Chef, have you ever encountered any culinary superstitions or quirky traditions in the kitchen?
Many superstitions believe they say you shouldn’t pass the salt, it causes enmity. Do not spin lime it isn't good for business. I do not believe in any of these.
Can you describe a bizarre food trend or fad that you've observed or experienced throughout your culinary career?
Yes! The food industry has evolved from regular cooking and serving to dining experience, and now into the progressive experimental elevated dining experience. From traditional Chula Sigdi to modern combi ovens, molecular gastronomic, and sous vid, but it’s so funny and sad that some chefs take the food presentation to an unimaginable level
By serving food in Iron Boxes, shovels, toilet commodes, etc.
