HYDERABAD: City-based Chef Varun Shahani is delighting the connoisseurs of good food with his exceptional culinary skills and winning accolades globally. He recently led the Relais & Châteaux meet, an annual prestigious event of the renowned Jean Georges chain of restaurants at its flagship restaurant at New York City. Jean Georges was ranked as the No 3 French restaurant in the USA in 2015 and secured a place in the top 100 among 1,000 French restaurants throughout the globe, accredited by France’s Foreign Ministry.
Chef Varun Shahani curated the menu for the Relais & Châteaux meet, right down to the plating of each of these dishes. It turned out to be an elegant and memorable affair that included canapés as the main dish for the event paired with champagne. The food was appreciated by the veterans and foodies alike. It’s an outstanding feat by an Indian on the global stage.
Talking about the event which he was appreciated, he says, “In the recent months Relais & Chateaux had an annual meeting of all the members of North America, which was held at Jean Georges, NYC. I got an opportunity to lead such a prestigious event where high-profile chefs like Daniel Boulud and Gabriel Kreuther, several of whom are French natives, were also present.”
Further adding about his stint with Jean Georges, says, “I am currently working as a chef de partie at Jean-Georges Restaurant in NYC and I have been with the company for 3 years. I was an extern at the restaurant when I started off, as a part of my last semester. I had applied to over 20 jobs all over NYC and the first one to get back to me was Jean-Georges, an upscale two Michelin star French restaurant owned by a very well known Chef, Jean Georges Vongerichten.”
Hyderabadi to the core
Interestingly, from the time he was a kid, he knew his heart lies in the food industry, following his parents’ footsteps. “Ever since I was a kid, I somehow was always in the kitchen helping my mom either cutting something or imitating her gestures while she stood for hours making the best meals for my family. When I grew up that passion started to deteriorate and I wanted to pursue CA, maybe because I thought it would be the right thing to do. But I looked at my dad working in the restaurant and catering industry and my mom in the kitchen cooking day in and day out and that made me realise that I was still drawn to my childhood passion and could never become an accountant or pursue anything else because my heart wouldn’t agree to do so,” the chef shares.
Elaborating on his Hyderabadi roots and fond food memories, chef Varun says, “I came back from school one day and remember standing next to my mother in our kitchen while she made Aloo matar for lunch. She was in a hurry, so I offered to help her.
I was definitely too young to handle the responsibilities of cooking a dish, but I still insisted on helping her. I recall this memory to be a significant part of my growing passion for cooking.” If he had to create a Hyderabadi dish using a French technique he would probably try to experiment over Shahi Tukra. All accolades aside, his journey in the culinary world was not a smooth one. “After working for nearly two years in India I felt like I needed to explore more and get out of my comfort zone.
The Culinary Institute of America in New York had always been my dream school and to be a part of that school wasn’t an easy path to walk on. I had to convince my parents why this school would be good for me and my career, especially because it is not light on the wallet in any way. Unfortunately, the hard part was not over. At the first attempt my student visa got rejected. I remember driving to the embassy, anxious and scared, but to my luck I had gotten the visa. That moment changed everything in my life,” he says.
Taking one step at a time
As a chef, his favourite thing to do apart from working in the restaurant is to handle his own food page on Instagram where he tries to create his own food videos (reels) and upload it online from time to time. “That way it helps me to be more creative and come up with my own style of food but also not too complicated for everyone to make it at home,” he says.
As the global food scenario is evolving, the chef feels it’s important for the world to know more about food sustainability. “Chefs around the world are always pushing boundaries to create something new and better as we all live in a very competitive world but, at the same time a lot of chefs are trying to spread awareness about sustainability through their food and promoting vegan/plant-based food,” he shares. In the next five years his goal is to never stop learning every single day. “I see myself leading an organisation either of my own or be a leading chef at a fine dining restaurant,” he concludes.