Leela Ambience Changes It's Kitchen Team and the Future Looks Delicious

Bikramjit Ray Aug 24, 2016

CHANGE HAS been in the air at Leela Ambience Gurgaon’s kitchen for a few months now. BW Hotelier caught up with a new face and one who has now got more on his plate. Chef Anurag Bhartwal joined the hotel as Executive Pastry Chef, while Executive Sous Chef, Neeraj Rawoot, one of the main stays in the Leela’s huge F&B operations is now acting Executive Chef and we hear from sources, will soon take over officially (fingers crossed).

“I have always worked for Oberoi Hotels so far, for the last 16 years. I worked in various properties from the North to the South of India. My last posting was at The Trident BKC. After that, for a brief time, I was associated with the small gourmet shop which I helped conceive and set up called Lazy Suzy in Bangalore,” Bhartwal told us. He added that after a year as an independent entrepreneur he realised that a small operation is only so big (sic). “I was wanting something more challenging, but I have big shoes to fill and I am looking forward to it,” he said and we couldn’t agree more.

Bhartwal’s style is very interactive, he said, “I have been taking classes for children as well as adults in my earlier jobs and I plan to do the same for this hotel as well”.

The first thing about the current job was to understand the complete operations and handle it. After all, the Leela Ambience Gurgaon is an extremely very busy hotel. “I am going to take it one step at a time. I plan to introduce my recipes and connect with the local clientele. I have a few creations which do very well with the Indian taste and inclinations,” Bhartwal said.

Neeraj Rawoot joined the Leela Ambience Gurgaon as Executive Sous Chef two years ago. It’s now his turn to head operations, something which he says isn’t, “much of a change as I have already been part of the system. Earlier there was Chef Ramon (Salto) around to guide me. Now with him gone, there are certain decisions that I have to take on my own. I have been in this same position in my previous hotel as well”.

Since he began meeting the executive chef job requirements earlier on in the lean season around May and June, Rawoot felt that his transition has been smooth. “I was already in operations, handling everything, since Chef Ramon has left, I have Amit (Amit Wadhera who has joined as Executive Sous Chef) to help me,” he added.

“I specialise in Indian and Asian cuisine. I have made people taste my Asian food, with a lot of authentic flavours. I want to promote Spectra with an Asian flavoured restaurant, with the new Malaysian chef (Master Chef, Anthony Tuh Yit Yu) and me teaming together we can really do wonders,” he added.

Rawoot felt that Thai cuisine was one of his core strength, but Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malay cuisine were also part of his specialisation.