CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
"RIVAAYAT is Kapil's idea….. Rathore contributed equally…… All three
Chefs Bali, Rohit and Ravi did a
remarkable job in orchestrating this one of its kind culinary conclave" – Vikram Oberoi, Chief Operating Officer & Joint Managing Director, The
Oberoi Group opined. I met him yesterday at the Oberoi Corporate office,
New Delhi. He was referring to the ‘Who’s Who list’ of Rivaayat –
Kapil - Kapil
Chopra, President, Oberoi Group
Rathore
-Jay Rathore, Vice President and General Manager, The Oberoi, New Delhi.
Rohit -Chef
Rohit Gambhir, Executive Chef, The Oberoi, New Delhi.
Bali -Chef
Parvinder Singh Bali, Program Manager - Culinary Services (OCLD)
Ravi - Chef
Ravitej Nath, Executive Chef, The Oberoi Gurgaon.
This is my second story on RIVAAYAT.
Read on…
"We decided to pick up people who have really consecrated their lives to
the world of cuisine” said Chef Rohit
Gambhir, Executive Chef, The Oberoi, New Delhi. “For instance ‘Sweety Singh’ who is wedded to
Punjabi cuisine since he was just 19 years of age and many more”.
“The direction from the top was very clear - Elevate
Indian food to the next level. Period”.
To begin with, myself and Chef Ravi really struggled to zero
in on where to start. That’s when we decided to take a step back. Instead of
opting to teach ourselves (which is the norm in all workshops) we decided
to give the culinary experts a chance. We in turn decided to learn
from these experts - along with the rest of the participating Chefs. (Conventional
wisdom turned upside down, I thought).
“Around 40 of us cooked together! I have never cooked
with another Executive Chef of Oberoi or Trident. But, here we were all cooking
together. Dish by dish we planned personally. We knew how much of each
ingredient we had used. That’s the level of detailing we went into. Two giant
screens were beaming the work of the culinary experts which we all followed
intently. Believe me each and every Oberoi and Trident hotel had nominated
their Chefs for RIVAAYAT" recalls Chef Rohit Gambhir, who happens to be
one of the load bearing pillars of RIVAAYAT. His enthusiasm and intensity was
palpable while he spoke.
On the logistics part, Chef Rohit continued: "We literally uprooted the
kitchens, transported the ranges and created a huge kitchen in a banquet hall
at The Oberoi, Gurgaon. We even set up a gas bank on the nearby terrace. This
was something unprecedented and reflects how serious we were about the
conclave”.
Some information on the culinary experts who were invited to RIVAAYAT - Chef Sweety Singh, known for showcasing
an array of authentic preparations from ‘rustic’ Punjab. Eminent Chef and
author of cook books - Mumtaz Khan
from Hyderabad. Mr. Izzat Husain, a food lover who has worked hard for several
years to search and rearrange authentic Mughalai recipes. Osama
Jalali, a freelance food critic. Lastly the Blogger and Food & Wine
Writer - Sourish Bhattacharya.
Married to Suchitra, (Executive
Housekeeper, The Oberoi, Gurgaon), Chef Rohit is blessed with a daughter-Aaliya (12) and a son –Aayaan (08). This fun loving Chef is
interested in food photography, which happens to be his main hobby.
Like Chef Bali, Chef Rohit also sports a great sense of
humor. Sample this: In the afternoon I had been to the Italian restaurant of
this hotel, Travertino. Chef Rohit introduced me to the Italian Chef
Vincenzo. After exchanging pleasantries, I whispered in jest into the ears of
Chef Vincenzo: “You must guide me; my knowledge on Italian cuisine is very
poor".
"Oh, not to worry" jumped in Chef Rohit in between, his knowledge is
also very poor" (pointing to Chef Vincenzo). The beautiful
part is that Chef Vincenzo broke into a peal of laughter, accepting the
joke graciously and gracefully.
Remember Chef Rohit’s favorite cuisine is Italian. He has worked extensively in
Italy and loves the food and culture there.
Text and Pictures: R Kesava Mallia in New Delhi
No comments:
Post a Comment