CHENNAI: I came to Chennai because I felt that people here really love and crave for chicken. Coming from a Punjabi family, that’s exactly the kind of motivation one needs. I like making traditional dishes with a twist. For example, the traditional chicken kofta, with aloo bhukara in it.
I add seasonal fruits and vegetables as these are fresh and it brings out a natural flavour of the dish. Nowadays, people are extremely health conscious and I would like to maintain standards that reassure people that what they eat is fresh. Keeping the summer in mind, I like to whip up summer fruits and vegetables this season to experiment with all my dishes.
I started cooking when I was in Class 7. I loved cooking and was passionate about it. I was a helping hand for my mom in the kitchen when she cooked for family gatherings. Once I cooked for a gathering
of 15-20 people.
I enjoy the dal-roti my mom makes (smiles) and that is my staple food. The one dish that I can have any day is butter chicken. Sarson da saag aur makki di roti, the hospitality and food of Punjab can be credited to be one of the reasons I’m in this field. If I were to pick a cuisine I love the most, it has to be Punjabi. But I also like South Indian sambar and dosas.
I started in 2003, and worked for four years in India before I moved to Cyprus for two-and-a-half years. After I came back, I started working in New Delhi. I used to make continental cuisine, but I was always passionate about the Indian cuisine, and that's what made me come back to it finally. After setting up 11 restaurants serving Punjabi cuisine in and around India, it feels good to be in Chennai; it has received the cuisine well.
I am based out of Delhi and I keep making trips to see how the restaurants are maintained. We also have restaurants in Washington DC, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bangkok and Jeddah.
When I was working in New Delhi, I used to make special breakfast daily for a customer who stayed in the hotel. One day, he came to meet me and we had a lovely chat. He asked me for the size of my shirt and the next day he got me a pair of Levis jeans and a T-shirt. It felt so good to receive the gift from someone who loved my food.
We work long hours and sometimes it is very difficult. Especially the holidays are very hard, for example, Diwali means holiday for the rest of the world but for the hospitality industry, it is the most crucial time. However, it is more satisfying to see our customers satisfied and happy with the food we make. My family understands that and they
are very supportive.
My mentor has been a great inspiration for me. When I began, I had a schedule where I had to work two days in continental, two days in pantry, two days in Indian and so on.
One day, I went to my mentor and told him that I could not keep juggling and that I wanted to take care of a single section. He pointed out a one guy who was making rotis behind me and said, “Only if you want to be like him, be at one section. If you want to grow, you need to be at different sections learning different skills at the same time. A rotiwala can be hired anywhere, but you cannot expect to be the master of one in this field. You should be the jack of all trades.” That changed my perspective and taught me a lot about being open to different jobs and cuisines.
With so much digitlisation, I always make it a point to keep up with the trends and update myself about the dishes and the different kinds of cuisines that the people like. My four-year-old daughter loves watching cookery shows. And being the foodie I am, I personally visit the authentic local places of each city to taste the actual food to learn and keep up with my knowledge of food.
I don’t cook at home and neither do I complain. I eat what they give me as I know the kind of love and effort that has gone into it. Even when I go out to restaurants, I never complain as I know the kind of pressure that they face in the kitchen.