“AS
A CHEF, THAT WAS MY BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT”!
"All three
periods (breakfast- lunch-dinner) I cooked for him; a couple of dishes he asked
me to repeat. He enjoyed my food to his heart's content. With my hands I
served him for five days and on the fifth day he died in my arms" Rakesh Upadhyay - the Officiating General Manager of Westin
Hyderabad Mindspace was sharing the last days he had spent with his
father, just before his father's death.
"Not many people get this rare chance to feed their father. As a Chef that was my biggest achievement", says Rakesh.
This happened in May 2011. Rakesh flew with his wife Prerana and two daughters (Supriya and Namrata) from Hyderabad to Varanasi to spend time with his parents living there. At Varanasi his father died in his arms - but only after enjoying the food cooked by his beloved son. His father was 79 year old then.
Chef turned General Manager, Rakesh is a fitness enthusiast. He loves to work out in the morning and evening with unabated regularity. Eats only soaked moong dal, tempered with cumin and asafoetida and seasoned with salt for dinner. Identifying talented staff and grooming them to grow further is his passion.
"Not many people get this rare chance to feed their father. As a Chef that was my biggest achievement", says Rakesh.
This happened in May 2011. Rakesh flew with his wife Prerana and two daughters (Supriya and Namrata) from Hyderabad to Varanasi to spend time with his parents living there. At Varanasi his father died in his arms - but only after enjoying the food cooked by his beloved son. His father was 79 year old then.
Chef turned General Manager, Rakesh is a fitness enthusiast. He loves to work out in the morning and evening with unabated regularity. Eats only soaked moong dal, tempered with cumin and asafoetida and seasoned with salt for dinner. Identifying talented staff and grooming them to grow further is his passion.
"The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace", asserts Rakesh Upadhyay, "has provided great career growth to many a staff members".
I will agree with him fully. His own growth in this hotel is enviable. Westin Hyderabad opened in Dec 2009. Rakesh joined this hotel as the Executive Chef in October 2010; got promoted as F&B Director in Nov 2012; became Executive Assistant Manager in April 2013 and was crowned as the Hotel manager last year in April. In just five years he lapped up three promotions!
"Only happy souls can bring business. Serve any guest with right emotions. Pleasing the guest truthfully matters a lot" says Rakesh Upadhyay, whose main hobby is listening to music.
When asked about the huge success of this hotel, Rakesh answered: "it is the oneness of the team; boundary less operation style and lack of hierarchy".
After passing out from the Hyderabad Institute of Hotel Management in 1988, he joined Welcomgroup Sullivan court, in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. In just three years he became the Executive Chef of this hotel. For the next four years, he was the Culinary Trainer at Welcomgroup Management Institute, Gurgaon. From 2004 to 2006 he was the Executive Chef at ITC Grand Central, Mumbai. His next stop was the Oberoi Bengaluru as Executive Chef....and thereafter he joined Westin Hyderabad...the rest is history like they say. Rakesh has never looked back since then.
Married to Prerana, a freelance copy editor by profession. Blessed with two daughters – Supriya (a final year B.Sc student at Symbiosis, Pune specialising in commerce, maths and statistics). Namrata is studying in 10th standard, at Future Kids, Gachibowli.
During my recent stay (31 Aug to 03 September 2016) incidentally; Rakesh was the Officiating General Manager.
Text and Pictures: R Kesava Mallia in Hyderabad
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