Interviewer:- As a student how were you? What made you take cooking as a career?
Chef:- I was a good student – studious and by God’s grace, always among the high rankers. And as for the cooking career is concerned, it totally happened by fluke (not to forget the fact that food had been an integral part of my life while I was growing up)! In those days, the fashion was to study engineering or medicine and I had an inborn trait of always doing something different. So, I chose Hotel Management and since then, there has been no looking back.
Interviewer:- You were one of the first ‘celebrity chefs’ back in the day. What do you think you did differently from your contemporaries to reach at this position?
Chef:- Besides working very hard and dreaming big, I always believed in ‘keeping things simple.’ I still do, and I think that’s what made me connect to my audience more, helped me carve a niche for myself in this industry as well as helped me reach where I am today.
Interviewer:- You were only the third Indian chef to get a Padma Award. How has the chef’s role changed in the last two decades?
Chef:- Chefs, today, are respected and looked upto as inspirations! Something that they weren’t before, and it gives me immense contentment that somewhere even I’ve been a reason to bring about this change.
Interviewer:- Cooking and food is big on social media. There is an explosion of food critics, Instagram chefs, food bloggers and home cooks. Can aspiring chefs take these areas also as career options?
Chef:- Ofcourse, without a doubt, they can. Social Media is a booming sector and there’s a lot it has to offer for aspiring chefs. But, having said that, I would like to repeat myself again that there’s no escaping from hard work here as well.
Interviewer:- How have India’s attitudes towards food and cooking changed in the recent years?
Chef:- Indian food is very well accepted in most parts of the world today, let alone India – the years gone have brought about a massive awareness about it. Even the awareness about Indian food is being modernized now. Indian food is in and to market it better, the food is being given the contemporary touch: in presentation, the use of convenient ingredients, use of modern gadgets and cookware and also in the naming of the dishes so that they are more identifiable.
Interviewer:- Hospitality Sector is very demanding. How do make balance between your professional and personal life?
Chef:- When you are a public figure, work becomes life. I love the work that I do and it pretty much helps achieve work life balance.
Interviewer:- What are the career options after completing Food Production courses in India?
Chef:- There are a lot of options like one can join a restaurant as a trainee chef and work towards the higher posts. Also, there are other options like a food blogger, food critic, food stylist, entrepreneurship, etc.
Interviewer:- How can food and cuisine contribute to factors such as women’s empowerment, health, and surrounding issues?
Chef:- Food, when it reaches people, connects them. Food is the common denominator which brings in people of diversified nationalities under one roof. Like, through my venture Wonderchef, we have built a community of women entrepreneurs in the food world, which enables women across the country to create a business of their own – boosting their pride, worth and not to forget family incomes. Similarly, I have taken on the challenge of improving/feeding school meals to children in remote villages and children from economically weak families and am working on other causes too.
Interviewer:- According to you what are the food trends you have observed coming on in India in 2018?
Chef:- Best out of waste – root to leaf dining, all things ‘turmeric,’ all-day breakfast concepts at restaurants are some of the things that I feel are going to catch up in 2018.
Interviewer:- Favorite International food destinations
Chef:- Dubai, Thailand, Singapore, Jordan, Australia and many more!
Interviewer:- Favorite Indian food destinations
Chef:- The whole of India!
Interviewer:- Your favorite street food
Chef:- Vada Pav.
Interviewer:- Favorite restaurant in the world
Chef:- Signature by Sanjeev Kapoor.
Interviewer:- Indian sweets or English desserts
Chef:- Mithais, now and forever!
Interviewer:- The most expensive ingredient you have used
Chef:- Truffles.
Interviewer:- The coolest gadget in your kitchen
Chef:- Wonderchef’s Hurom Slow Juicer.
Interviewer:- The most popular dish of yours
Chef:- Shaam Savera.
Interviewer:- Tell us something about current ventures.
Chef:- The fact that we achieved the Guinness World Record by cooking 918 kg khichdi live at the World Food India 2017, New Delhi was quite surreal! Trust me, it took me a while to get back to reality! Besides that, there’s a lot that’s happening in the SK Restaurants vertical – we are coming up with new brands in India and abroad. Alongwith this, a photo shoot is in progress for one of my most ambitious cookbook project and a lot more. All I would say is, you’ll have wait and watch, the best is yet to come!
Interviewer:- What advice would you give to new young chefs who are inspired by your style of cooking?
Chef:- Be yourself, create things that would define you and bring laurels rather than aping someone else and doing a mediocre job in it. Also, wear a smile at all times – it helps to deal with problems in a better way, stay humble, get out of your comfort zone and take risks, never cease to dream and work hard towards achieving your goals.
Interviewer:- Please advise some useful cookery books authored by you so that our students could get to know some in-depth knowledge of the art of cooking.
Chef:- ‘The Yellow Chilli Cookbook’ – dedicated to making cooking restaurant-style food easy, and ‘aah! Chocolate’ – everything you need to know to handle and work with one of the most favourite ingredients in the world, are some of my cookbooks that the students can refer to for an in-depth knowledge.
