Faces Behind Food
FOOD IS A ROARING BUSINESS IN AHMEDABAD, WITH YOUNG PEOPLE PICKING UP THE LADLE AND DONNING BAKING GLOVES TO WHET THE CITY’S PALATE
Food is a roaring business in Ahmedabad, with young people picking up the ladle and donning baking gloves to whet the city’s palate.
SHIVANI MEHTA, 37 FOUNDER, THE ART OF COOKING A three-layered baked dish that she rustled up for the finale show of
Masterchef India Season 3 catapulted Shivani Mehta to instant fame in Gujarat. Cooking shows, endorsement for food products and events started pouring in, turning this passionate home cook into a chef-entrepreneur. “For Masterchef, I studied like I would for a board exam. I went to libraries to research recipes from different cuisines and that helped because I was among the top
13 in that season,” she says. She went on to become a coordinator for Gujarat for the same show, identifying contestants and conducting auditions. With cooking shows becoming increasingly popular, Mehta conducts workshops with visiting chefs across the state. artofcooking.co.in
CHEF LICONG YONG, 39 EXECUTIVE CHEF, CHINA HOUSE From Hebei to Ahmedabad, it's been a long journey for Chef Li who came here to “explore a new country and its tradition” in 2010. Now a part of the China House kitchen brigade, he has introduced the region to authentic cuisine from different provinces of China. Having mastered Sichuan cuisine at the Holiday Inn in Beijing, he moved to Shenzhen where he learnt the nuances of Guangdong cooking at a traditional Chinese restaurant. At China House, the specialty restaurant at Hyatt Regency, Li whips up authentic dishes like kung pao chicken and hot pot lamb shank. The menu varies according to the season and Li’s newest innovation is a delicious recipe using local bottle gourd. hyatt.com
YASH THAKORE, 33 EXECUTIVE SOUS CHEF, CROWNE PLAZA AHMEDABAD As a child, whipping up simple snacks using recipes from his mother’s cookbooks, Yash Thakore never imagined that one day he would cook for the Prime Minister of India. In his 13 year-long culinary journey, the young chef has served former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Taj Colombo, cooked for BSP chief Mayawati as her personal chef, tossed salads and healthy foods for 22,000 athletes over 16 days during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and introduced global guests to Indian delicacies in Boston. “Only a self-motivated person can survive in this field because it needs a lot of commitment and sacrifice,” he says. Thakore’s forte is North West Frontier cuisine where he recreates traditional recipes by giving them a modern appeal. Ask him what’s always in his larder and he says, “lotus stem, jackfruit, figs, spinach, coconut in any form and green onions are my favourites.” facebook.com/yash.thakore.7
SHIVAM KOTHARI, 37 CHEF, FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONSULTANT A self-confessed fan of “continental cuisine with a desi twist”, Shivam Kothari introduced Ahmedabad to panko-coated Greek bombas, all-vegetarian Turkish sambusa and cheese fondue with a dash of masala. “Indians love bold flavours so I add spice at every step,” he says. Armed with a degree in hotel management from the Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management in Ooty, Kothari started his career in the front office of the Lake Palace in Udaipur but quickly moved into the kitchen by using his free time to assist the pastry chef. After a stint with The Oberoi Group, where he “learnt all about plating, world cuisines and how to marry different flavours”, and a course in kitchen management from the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, he decided to launch his own venture in 2008 called Mint Route, a restaurant in Ahmedabad which introduced the city to Turkish and Greek delicacies. Today he works as a consultant with a number of restaurants and cafes. facebook.com/mintingfoodstories DARSHAN RAWAL, 36 CAFÉ SOHO AND SOHO II FORNO For his classic New York style pizza at Café Soho, chef-owner Darshan Rawal deftly rolls, stretches and tosses the handmade dough kneaded with “100 per cent real wheat Italian flour” and tops it with San Morzano tomato and mozzarella. Rawal learnt the art of pizza-making in New York and then worked with a local pizzeria before returning to Ahmedabad a few years ago to start two all-pizza cafes and offer consultancy services to other restaurants on pizza recipes. “I specialise mainly in New York style, Chicago style, Italian style fresh dough pizzas and Italian cuisine,” he says. facebook.com/cafesoho.ooo
TEJAS PATEL, 30 CHEF DE CUISINE AT HYATT REGENCY Inspired by his mother’s cooking skills, Tejas
Patel traded the family business for a career in the kitchen. He left home as a teenager to study culinary arts in Singapore and began his career as an assistant cook in a restaurant called Handlebar in Singapore. Talking about working as Chef De Cuisine at Hyatt Regency he says, “I curate degustation menus and enjoy the entertainment aspect of my art.” He rarely sticks to tried-and-tested recipes; his signatures are chaas soda pop, pani puri with fruit caviar and a truffle infused basil and lime murgh tikka. A popular face on local television and radio channels for cookery shows like Rasoi ni Maharani, Kitchen Kalakar and LG Malaika e kitchen, Patel likes incorporating locally sourced ingredients into world cuisine. facebook.com/tejas215 SUVRITTI SINGH, 31 7 VIOLETTES For about a year after they launched 7 Violettes, —Ahmedabad's first French patisserie—owners Suvritti Singh and her sister continued to explain what macaroons, charlottes and operas are to every customer in order to acquaint them with French desserts. “For a city that likes even their food on the sweeter side, introducing pure dark Belgian chocolate was a task in itself but we loved it,” she says. Cooking and baking was a childhood passion and after a brief apprenticeship with the Fortune Landmark Hotel, Singh studied bakery at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Patisserie (ENSP) in the South of France. She then went on to hone her chocolate-making skills at Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF). Armed with unmatched patisserie skills, she returned and introduced Ahmedabad to the never-before-seen-or-tried French desserts that locals have come to love. facebook.com/7Violettes
PRANAV JOSHI, 39 CELEBRITY
CHEF, RESTAURANT CONSULTANT AND FOUNDER, MY COOKING ACADEMY With cooking skills honed in Australia and innovative recipes up his sleeve, Pranav Joshi is undoubtedly one of the most popular faces in Gujarat when it comes to food. In the last decade he has done it all—been a regular on television cookery shows, posted cooking videos on Youtube, consulted leading restaurants and even successfully run a cooking academy. When he dons the chef’s hat, Joshi enjoys dishing out Mediterranean fare but his personal favourite continues to be home-cooked Gujarati food. The interest in food, he says, has spiraled over the past few years especially with cooking contests on mainstream television. “I have been swamped with mails and messages in the past two years. While 60 per cent are genuinely passionate about cooking, the rest look at it as a career that will bring them fame,” he says. mycookingacademy.com
ROMA KASTIA, 30 MAD OVEN BAKER At a time when sugary sweet cakes and desserts were the norm, Roma Kastia introduced Ahmedabad to a zucchini and chocolate tea cake which balanced the richness of chocolate with the goodness of the vegetable. The new offering was an instant hit and orders started pouring in, prompting the fashion designer to trade her sketching board for baking gloves and launch Mad Oven Baker in 2015. A graduate from School of Fashion Technology, Pune, Kastia did a baking workshop with the Le 15 Patisserie in Mumbai and followed it up with two more workshops where she learnt baking techniques. “The recipes are all mine. I innovate and use different combinations of ingredients,” she says. So, while zucchini leads the menu, Kastia also bakes a banana and nutella combo, a flavoursome apple cake and a delicious mandarin and chocolate cake. facebook.com/themadoven STUTI BAXI, 35 HOME BAKER AND FOUNDER, STUTI’S SUGAR SHOP When you see her elegantly decorated fondant cakes, it’s hard to imagine that Stuti Baxi was scared to venture into baking until only a few years ago. “I was always fond of cooking but baking was daunting. I rarely had successful attempts,” says the home baker who now supplies customised cakes. The journalism graduate launched her venture Stuti’s Sugar Shop in December 2015. She specialises in made-to-order cakes with elaborate fondant dressings and can make your choice of design— from a grand necklace to an airplane or your little one's favourite cartoon character. “I love seeing the transition of a simple sponge to a beautiful piece of art. Most of my cakes reflect a cartoon character or a TV series or it's just a gorgeous looking cake,” she says. “Fondant is a very forgiving medium, it can be moulded into anything you can imagine. Your fingers just need to do the magic,” says Baxi. facebook.com/themadoven