When are you happiest at work?
I am the happiest when my guest leaves the restaurant on a happy and satisfied note. Also my team brings a huge difference on my day-to-day work which always brings a smile on my face.
What trends are you noticing regarding wine and food pairings?
Pairing is one of the most important aspect while designing a menu. A best wine cannot be enjoyed if you don’t pair it with the right flavours and vice versa.
What was your biggest disappointment as a chef?
Biggest disappoint as a chef is that I don’t get to eat food on time. Sometimes, seeing too much food can make you skip a meal.
What do you always avoid ordering on a menu?
I come from the coasts of south India, but interestingly, I don’t eat seafood. I also don’t prefer vegetables like okra and bitter gourd.
Of the dishes you prepare, which one would you never eat yourself? Why?
Raw oyster or a Peruvian Ceviche. As mentioned above, I’m not a big fan of seafood. Also, I cannot think of having it raw.
Which is your favourite restaurant? What would you prefer to eat there?
I got an opportunity to work abroad and visited Las Vegas. There I visited one of my favourite restaurants – Gordon Ramsay Steak – and then tried the celeb-chef Gordon Ramsay’s signature dish, Beef Wellington. It was one of the best dishes I ever had.
Describe one incident when you messed up a recipe real bad.
This was an incident when I was just 10 days old in the industry and I was asked to strain a soup by my senior chefs. In a normal way, I started straining the soup and later my chef came and shouted at me asking ‘Do you really know what you are doing?’ It happened to be a Chicken Consommé with the raft on top and I had to strain it carefully with one ladle at a time, so that the soup doesn’t turn cloudy. This experience is something that I can never forget.
What is the best recent food trend?
Healthy eating is one of the recent trends. I am also not a firm believer in molecular gastronomy. I like my dish taste the best with the balance of flavours and best presentation.
- By Pradeep Rao,executive sous chef,Conrad Bengaluru