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

Passion and your sole reason to exist is to eat (Food), learn, think outside the box, learn-unlearn-re learn and Army commando stamina”

— Vikash Prasad

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

Got into Hotel School IHCT&AN Bangalore by accident, one month into the college fell in love with food. Started my career with OCLD and later moved between cities, countries and cultures encompassing Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, One & Only, Imperial Hotel, Shangri-La, The Leela, IHG, Marriott and now at Swiggy. Blessed with hosting Chaine de rotisseur annual gala to being awarded “Chef of the Year” by Times of India.

Best part of my culinary journey is the amount of exposure and learnings I got from different Chef’s, Countries and Cities regarding how closely cuisines signify and relate to cultures, its people and the infinite and amazing iterations of food.

What are your earliest memories of the kitchens you worked in

Government Quarter 5X5 feet Kitchen - trying to make chikki and ransacking the whole Kitchen to fishing in a pond and trying to roast it over wood fire in my Granny’s Open Kitchen and burning my hand. Erstwhile Palms Kitchen at Trident Mumbai where in 1996 we were doing 1000 covers a day.

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

Passion and your sole reason to exist is to eat (Food), learn, think outside the box, learn-unlearn-re learn and Army commando stamina. Be passionate about what you do, be humble, take feedbacks positively, listen to your customers and practise what brought you here will not take you there.

What advice would you give to a young culinary student?

There are no shortcuts, Culinary is time consuming and slow process, knowledge and its interpretation will take time to fructify. Everyone can cook hence to become a pedigree Chef passion, learning, hard work and innovation will be the key drivers.

Your favourite ingredient is…

Lamb you can grill, Pan Fry, Roast, Stew, Mince, Smoke, Sous Vide – Any Cuisine

Name chefs, you find amazing or chefs work you admire

Heston Blumenthal – He is pioneer in multi-sensory cooking, flavour’s and food pairing.

Gordon Ramsay – His recipes in his cook books works, would recommend to get hold of “Gordon's Great Escape Southeast Asia”

What books should every chef read?

Modern Cookery by Thangam Philip, Larousse gastronomique, Prashad, Classic French Cook book Le Cordon Bleu, Culineria USA and follow closely the Pedigree Chef’s, their new innovations, and books

What is the one tech/app/software feature you would like to see? This could be for guests, operations, etc.

Follow Swiggy its an epitome.

Talk to us about innovation in Culinary. How would you describe the landscape and what can we expect?

Food and Cuisines are evolving at such a rapid pace, its mind boggling. There are no purists anymore. Guests are very knowledgeable about food now compared to a decade ago. The advent of standalone Restaurants, Cloud Kitchens, Technology in food preparation, Home Chef’s have changed the expectation completely for Cuisines, Dishes, Way of Service, Variety and expectation.

Chef’s & F&B Businesses will have to up the game, continue to invest in learning, innovation and embrace technology