By Shankar Krishnamurthy
Like they say, love happens when you’re making other plans.That’s what happened to me.I had other career goals but those didn’t feature becoming a Chef. My tryst with the culinary arts began as a light-hearted affair and culminated into an all-consuming passion. And guess what happened? I was drawn into a life-long affair with food. That’s what happens right, when passion becomes your purpose and profession?
Honestly, I never saw myself as a professional Chef even though food was always my passion. My mom was an excellent cook (my first mentor) and every meal was a finger-licking affair. Consistency and finesse were her hallmarks. There was always this aroma of freshly ground spices wafting in the air at home. Even the early morning coffee was brewed from freshly ground beans, sourced with great effort, the fragrance of which lingered across miles. My sister and I relive those days with great relish till date. Even after I have traversed a long path and received accolades for my work, I still don’t think I can come anywhere close to her. How she did, what she did, even she didn’t have a fixed formula. It was her love blended with guessed precision that created the magic. It is from her I learnt that love is the most important ingredient in cooking. Whether it’s picking the right condiments or getting the ratio right, love for cooking is the guiding force.
We were a family of foodies but all I wanted to become was a chemical Engineer. Well, that’s what most good boys from South Indian families did, unless of course, they wanted to be doctors! But then life happened when I was busy making those plans.
As luck would have it, I didn’t get through the stream I so badly wanted and out of sheer vengeance, I wrote the first National level entrance exam for Hotel Management and Culinary Course. When I look back, I wonder what made me do that because I had never put my foot into a 5 star hotel until then, leave alone tasting non-vegetarian food! But then, what is it they say about finding your calling? In my case, it was the reverse! In the next 3 years of my Catering Technology course, my calling found me! There was no looking back. And even if I did, it was only to relive some glorious moments & laughable goof-ups.
My affair with food was born out of love, not by design. That’s what led me to the Oberoi School of Hotel Management, where I studied Kitchen Program for 2 years. That’s where my love for food was sealed with the legit stamp of a Chef. And when I took the plunge to be a restaurateur in 2003, it was that love which spurred me on to start not just one restaurant but to expand to 15 outlets over the next 15 years and set up large scale catering operations.
My role models were Chef Marco Pierre White, followed by the Roux brothers. I was constantly inspired by their achievements. My mentors were the senior Chefs I worked with and learnt a great deal from. Life has been full of high pressure jobs, surviving extreme temperatures& crazy sleepless schedules but at the end of a day what fulfils me the most is when I watch a plate that comes back with the signs of satiation, and the satisfied faces of the diners. That, for me, is the truest indicator of whether the food I am serving is in sync with what I intend to do; If I’m being committed to my motto – to feed people and make them happy.
I was and still am, a man who’s madly-in-love with every aspect of food. Food, for me, is art, science, passion and religion. It’s with that all consuming love that I’m here to share all that I have learnt, everything I’ve mastered, with each one of you
My endeavour is to make cooking as easy as a walk in the park; I mean something that comes with little effort. So, take a deep breath and as you exhale, I will be with you taking you on this heady gastronomic journey. Let’s start then, shall we?