RIVAAYAT MIRACLE……………01

ALL  ABOUT THE  LEARNINGS  FROM  RIVAAYAT

                                                    

"Don't put onions in ‘Baingan ka Bhartha’ as it makes the dish sweet and while cooking the Bhartha cook it with the stems on and serve it along with the stems as well. It just enhances the flavor. This is just one of the things I have learnt at RIVAAYAT. …and like this we have learnt more than 200 new things" says Chef Parvinder Singh Bali. He was talking to me on the four different aspects on RIVAAYAT - People, Product, Process and Profits.

The Oberoi Group is synonymous with the highest standards of quality and guest experience. In line with the same tradition the group launched ‘RIVAAYAT’ - a unique culinary journey to take Indian food to the next level.  Spread over 5 days this conclave focused on reviving and rearranging the lost recipes of Punjabi, Awadhi, Hyderabadi and Dehlvi food.  Chef Bali who was one of the main organizers of RIVAAYAT spoke to me on the 4 P’s of RIVAAYAT.

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PEOPLE:  “Oberoi Group's core strength is its people. 40 Chefs in a room for five days. Cooking ….and talking nothing but food! Every Chef chose to be with one another. Even today, RIVAAYAT lingers in our minds ….memories are being shared and so too are the learnings.  The Chefs are already looking forward to the next RIVAAYAT”.

PRODUCT:  “We are trying to bring back the magic of traditional Indian cuisine. Indian cuisine has been botched up over the years. In the days gone by the cooks were greedy; hence they never bothered to share the secrets of their recipes. Our’s is the healthiest and most scientific cuisine. Not many know that ……and RIVAAYAT is  an effort to recreate those lost recipes! ”.

PROCESS:  “A banquet hall at the Oberoi Gurgaon was converted into a full fledged kitchen for the RIVAAYAT conclave …..complete with a gas bank and all safety measures in place. This was not easy and required detailed planning.”

PROFITS:  “ We (all the Chefs of The Oberoi Group) are banking sincerely on our RIVAAYAT learnings. We want to convert them into guest delight across all hotels. That is our real profit. Taking the lead  - The Oberoi Gurgaon, New Delhi, Kolkata and Trident Gurgaon, Mumbai (Bandra Kurla) have already orchestrated food festivals from the inspiration drawn from RIVAAYAT”

Chef Bali is presently the Program Manager- Culinary Services with the Oberoi Center of Learning and Development (OCLD), New Delhi – a hospitality school of the highest repute in our country and considered internationally as a benchmark for excellence in the hotel industry. It is the ‘Harvard’ of the Hospitality Industry.

                                       

Married to Shalini, Chef Bali is blessed with two children - Ojus (15) and Amora (8). Music in any form is his hobby. He loves to play the keyboard and flute and can speak around nine languages!!

He sports a smile and a sense of humor with equal élan – very gifted to say the least.

When I told him that  my next meeting  will be with Chef Rohit Gambhir  at The Oberoi, New Delhi, Chef Bali opened up (with a chuckle) –“ Oh ! We are classmates, we both studied together at OCLD. Rohit would ride the scooter and I will be the pillion rider. My job was to keep on singing through our ride. Rohit would warn me often: If you stop singing I will stop riding the scooter “.

Interestingly, both the Chefs, Rohit as well as Bali have been in the industry for 22 years.

Text & Pictures: R.Kesava Mallia in New Delhi