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

My Hospitality career started with perusing Hospitality Management Diploma from Rizvi College of Hotel Management, Mumbai. During my internship at Taj Mahal Palace & Towers, Mumbai I had made up my mind to make FOOD my career. After passing from college in 2004,

I started my journey with Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai as a Chef Trainee. After completing my training I moved to international shores and worked with W Hotels in Maldives & was part of the pre-opening team of Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. After coming back to India, I have been working across different sectors of the industry i.e. food retail (QSR’s) & food factory, restro-bars, restaurants, theme park, cloud kitchens, etc. With majority of my experience in pre- opening verticals, getting into consulting was a natural way forward and today I am working as a Chef Consultant with some highly reputed and award winning F& B Brands, Hospitality & Food companies.

As a person, I am kind hearted and simple but as a culinary professional I am a tough task master in the kitchen as the only driving force for me is my passion for Food & Beverage industry.

What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in

Long Working Hours but we still smiled and enjoyed our time in the kitchen. No ready-made goods like mayo, gravies, etc. Impeccable hygiene standards, passionate colleagues, capitalism wasn’t then part of the industry and most importantly quest for continuous improvement in our skills and knowledge.

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

Being able to re-invent and have a continuous up-gradation of knowledge and skills is very crucial. Also for a Chef, understanding the complete business module and various costs involved in operating it is of utmost importance. Chefs need to understand that today diners are not only looking for just taste but an overall experience and one has to keep coming up with newer ideas on presentations, using new age ingredients, newer recipes and also moving out of the comfort zone is something that will only help them to grow. Also being in a business where we are dependent on various skill sets; Chefs need to develop HR management skills to keep the ball rolling. In one line, I can say is that “Become a Good Leader and not just a Good Cook.” There’s more to this industry than just cooking.

What advice would you give to a young culinary student?

Learn to cook first and then think of becoming famous. Focus on skills and knowledge development than looking to becoming a social media star. Money will come for sure provided you don’t run behind it.

Share with us your entrepreneurial journey. How did it start, why, where etc?

As mentioned earlier I take things the way they come. Getting into the business of consulting was a decision I made when I realised that it’s better to trade my skills and knowledge with the industry than just one company. I was working as Executive Chef with an International restaurant brand where I started consulting for someone on my off days. Things started to fall into place through word of mouth and today I am a full time consultant and also a restaurateur. I started my journey from Mumbai but today I am working on Pan India basis and looking to scale up my business on international Shores.

What has been your joy and your anguish in doing what you do?

Each day is new and filled with opportunities. Not a single day is mundane and with every new project I get to do something different and outside my comfort zone and that’s very fulfilling to me. Also learning so much new with every passing day is very exciting.

What do you do for your clients? Your services? Who should call you and why?

I am with clients from ideation stage of a project till its execution and successful launch. Post opening services include food styling, operations overlook and audits. Business owners with existing F& B business can reach out to me in case they need any of the below mentioned services and people who are venturing into this space definitely need to have a consultant with them as turning a vision into reality is only possible with professional support.

Services Offered:

1) Concept Development & Execution

2) Menu & Product Development

3) Supply Chain Management Solution

4) Restaurant Design alongside project architect

5) Kitchen Design & Planning

6) Staff Training

7) Food Styling

8) Menu Revamp & Training

9) Kitchen Audit

10) HR Policies Development

11) Training & Development