By Arun Sundararaj
THEN: PEOPLE-have asked me many a times what does it take to be Chef? I reflect on the way I became a chef. I got into cooking very early as my parents were travelling and I needed to feed myself. There was food that was made which did not appeal to me, so I decided that it would be better if I whipped up an omelet. This was my introduction into the world of food. The simple omelet has myriad variations and even today a Sunday brunch with the family is about something new with a new ingredient and cooking style.
At Taj Mahal, New Delhi, I discovered the legendary Machan with its famous egg preparations and a lot more!
I soon realised that I loved to cook and enjoyed churning out dishes. The next step was to move to catering college and I was told that the food served in the college cafeteria is great and the girls are good looking--what more motivation would one need to join and start my first few steps into the industry?
Things went well, till I had to do my industry exposure. I was lucky as I was training in hotel kitchens during December and January. I was left in a trance-- large platters of cold meat, with names I had never heard of like ’ballotine’ or ’Parma ham’--I felt that I had found my true calling. New names, new dishes, new ingredients!
I then moved to the hot kitchen where there was so much work that it just never seemed to get over. Once when I was training a senior manager came in and asked us how is it going and all I had to say was ’all balls’-- there was pin drop silence. I saw the shocked look on her face and then realized what I had said. I explained when I come in the morning I am deputed to the hawali and all he made me make were gulab jamun balls. I then moved to the snacks section and again all I got to make were hara kebab balls, once that gets over I was made to make vegetable kofta balls and then finally I end up making naan dough balls so ’all ball’ everyone had a hearty laugh but I realised that apart from skill we need a lot of physical stamina and the ability to stand in one place making the same thing in large volumes.
I got my dream job at the Taj, when I became a trainee chef 23 years ago. From the outside it sounded very good, but we knew it was the lowest job in the entire kitchen brigade. We were outcasts as most of the cooks knew that someday this chap is going to be his boss so equate that to the type of jobs that we would do. We were basically shown how difficult their job was. I loved the challenge as it meant that I just got better at their job and had a steep learning curve.
Every day was a roller coaster ride, many ups and downs with super high pressure hours with a few minutes of relaxation with the team thrown in. There were days when you silently muttered, ’when are these guests going to stop eating’? The thrill that one experienced after finishing a fully packed meal session with no errors was something else!
NOW: Quality, quantity, consistency and passion ’ yes, the ingredients for a Chef and the recipe for a delighted patron. Here, at the iconic Taj Mahal Delhi, my team and I are proud to be in a culture of constructive communication, empowerment and innovation that leads to culinary creations for a wide variety of palates.
My mantra is, and has always been, Learn Learn Learn. As Chefs now, we have to be in tune with domestic and international trends, constructive technology, health and wellness and a plethora of innovations. Our engagement with our patrons as well as our team has changed dramatically. At the Taj, we lay immense emphasis on mutual respect and in the kitchens, plan our work in such a way to encourage the team to give their best into their work and spend relevant quality time with their families. Work harder, smarter and party even harder is the moto!
The Author is Executive Chef at Taj Mahal’New Delhi.
THEN: PEOPLE-have asked me many a times what does it take to be Chef? I reflect on the way I became a chef. I got into cooking very early as my parents were travelling and I needed to feed myself. There was food that was made which did not appeal to me, so I decided that it would be better if I whipped up an omelet. This was my introduction into the world of food. The simple omelet has myriad variations and even today a Sunday brunch with the family is about something new with a new ingredient and cooking style.
At Taj Mahal, New Delhi, I discovered the legendary Machan with its famous egg preparations and a lot more!
I soon realised that I loved to cook and enjoyed churning out dishes. The next step was to move to catering college and I was told that the food served in the college cafeteria is great and the girls are good looking--what more motivation would one need to join and start my first few steps into the industry?
Things went well, till I had to do my industry exposure. I was lucky as I was training in hotel kitchens during December and January. I was left in a trance-- large platters of cold meat, with names I had never heard of like ’ballotine’ or ’Parma ham’--I felt that I had found my true calling. New names, new dishes, new ingredients!
I then moved to the hot kitchen where there was so much work that it just never seemed to get over. Once when I was training a senior manager came in and asked us how is it going and all I had to say was ’all balls’-- there was pin drop silence. I saw the shocked look on her face and then realized what I had said. I explained when I come in the morning I am deputed to the hawali and all he made me make were gulab jamun balls. I then moved to the snacks section and again all I got to make were hara kebab balls, once that gets over I was made to make vegetable kofta balls and then finally I end up making naan dough balls so ’all ball’ everyone had a hearty laugh but I realised that apart from skill we need a lot of physical stamina and the ability to stand in one place making the same thing in large volumes.
I got my dream job at the Taj, when I became a trainee chef 23 years ago. From the outside it sounded very good, but we knew it was the lowest job in the entire kitchen brigade. We were outcasts as most of the cooks knew that someday this chap is going to be his boss so equate that to the type of jobs that we would do. We were basically shown how difficult their job was. I loved the challenge as it meant that I just got better at their job and had a steep learning curve.
Every day was a roller coaster ride, many ups and downs with super high pressure hours with a few minutes of relaxation with the team thrown in. There were days when you silently muttered, ’when are these guests going to stop eating’? The thrill that one experienced after finishing a fully packed meal session with no errors was something else!
NOW: Quality, quantity, consistency and passion ’ yes, the ingredients for a Chef and the recipe for a delighted patron. Here, at the iconic Taj Mahal Delhi, my team and I are proud to be in a culture of constructive communication, empowerment and innovation that leads to culinary creations for a wide variety of palates.
My mantra is, and has always been, Learn Learn Learn. As Chefs now, we have to be in tune with domestic and international trends, constructive technology, health and wellness and a plethora of innovations. Our engagement with our patrons as well as our team has changed dramatically. At the Taj, we lay immense emphasis on mutual respect and in the kitchens, plan our work in such a way to encourage the team to give their best into their work and spend relevant quality time with their families. Work harder, smarter and party even harder is the moto!
The Author is Executive Chef at Taj Mahal’New Delhi.
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