CHENNAI: Storming around wearing a classic white apron, he initially appears to be like a toughie. The grim type. However, his stern face, with a neatly curled handlebar moustache, brightens up as he beams and welcomes me to his war room at Hyatt Regency Trivandrum.
Chef Senthil Kumar has been at the helm of the hotel’s kitchen for the past eight months and has made a mark on the city’s gastronomy scene with his delicacies. The Tamil Nadu native, who is ace at Indian and Arabic cuisines, engages in a tete-a-tete with TNIE on his exciting culinary journey spanning two decades
A chef is born
Born in a middle-class family in Chennai, Senthil did a hospitality and catering course with an eye on jobs abroad. He says he never even dreamt of becoming an executive chef. “My only base was the housekeeping and cooking experience I had got through helping my mother since childhood,” he says. “Being a fresher, it was hard to find a job. So, on completing the course in 2000, I worked in many small hotels and even street food outlets. I still remember the first salary offer I got was Rs 2,000 per month.”
Senthil, who is in his 40s, is grateful to his “strict” superiors for moulding him into the confident chef he is today. “The present generation is sensitive. It is hard to find skilled candidates in the hospitality industry. Our generation received rigorous training. My right middle finger got severely injured once as I was made to carry gas cylinders as part of training, and it fell on my hand. I was only 20 at that time but did not give up. Training started with housekeeping and cleaning work. Culinary training came much later. These days, a large number of hospitality management students drop out as they are hesitant to carry out such chores.”
Making his mark
The turning point in Senthil’s journey came in 2003 when he joined the Hyatt group in Dubai. His talent got recognition as he curated South Indian dishes. It was his mother’s idli and special tomato chutney and home-style cooking that impressed foodies as well as his bosses. “Even now, my comfort food is idli and tomato chutney, and biryani,” Senthil smiles. “While cooking, my favourites are butter chicken and, in general, South Indian dishes.”
Not that Senthil excels only in Indian fare. ‘You name it, you got it’ — that’s his mantra. “Once, while working at a Gurgaon restaurant, I made salmon steak for a foreign guest. He loved it and wanted to meet me,” says Senthil. “When he saw me, however, he found it hard that a South Indian had prepared the dish. That said, discrimination or preconceived notions based on skin colour and nativity does exist.”
Senthil adds he finds Thiruvananthapuram ‘homely’. “For the breakfast buffet here, I introduced the authentic South Indian vada-curry and mutton paaya curry,” he says. “For home-style cooking, I focus on procuring products with a local connection, especially fish and vegetables. As a chef, I feel we need to have a connection with our roots.”
Fusion food
Being the executive chef at the restaurant, Senthil has been blending traditional and western fares. “Mutton masala burger is an example. Even pasta can be prepared with butter chicken gravy,” he says. Talking of popular choices in Kerala, Senthil says, though Malayalis love to explore international cuisines, at the end of the day, most prefer eating native dishes.
“Over the past five years, international travelling among the Malayali community has increased. Thus, they are well aware of foreign cuisines and ingredients,” he adds. “I have been amazed by their detailed knowledge of international food. So, it is a challenge for me, as a chef, to match their expectations.”