About Chef

Know Your Chef

What inspired you to become a chef? Tell us your story!

Apart from my mom, my dad loved cooking and our weeknight family dinners were always exciting. We talked about our day and enjoyed some delicious homemade food prepared together by my parents. I remember them discussing  food with great detail and that is what made cooking a really enjoyable activity for me. I grew up in Nepal and apart from the local cuisine, I also had the privilege to experience delicacies from around the world due to my parents who were ardent foodies. My first job was at a resort in Nepal and it will always hold a special place in my heart due to their expert training regime. After exploring this space and gaining some valuable cooking lessons, I finally moved to Mumbai where work has always been about learning something new every day.

Which celebrity chefs do you admire the most?

Sanjeev Kapoor is an obvious name that comes to mind. I also enjoy watching chef Harpal Singh’s shows on Food Food Channel.

What entertains you?

My source of entertainment is doing things that my family enjoys including spending some time together.

Do you like to travel? What are your favorite travel destinations?

I frequent places that are a drive away from Mumbai. I hope to visit Switzerland someday in the future.

Do you like reading?

The books that I read are mostly related to cooking. It could be a recipe book or an autobiography of a well known chef.

Have you tried food from Holachef? How was your experience?

Chef Dev Singh’s kung pao chicken is something I enjoy eating.

Which cuisines/dishes do you love to cook and why?

I love cooking oriental cuisine, especially Indo-Chinese dishes. It is the type of cuisine that I have prepared all my life as a professional chef and involves ingredients and cooking techniques that I am most comfortable with.

A cooking tip that you always follow.

Oriental cuisine, especially the Indo-Chinese variety, should always be cooked at a high flame. If cooked at a low flame, the ingredients tend to stick to the pan.

What’s your favorite kitchen tool?

The chopper is my favourite kitchen knife since it is used a lot in preparing oriental dishes.

If you weren’t a chef or in the food business, what would you be?

Teaching is something I enjoy. As a matter of fact, I was offered a teaching job before I joined my first restaurant in Nepal!

What’s the largest number of people you’ve ever cooked for?

A team of chefs, that included me and four other brilliant chefs, once prepared food for a total of 3000 people. This included dishes from five entirely different global cuisines.

An advice to someone who inspires to be a professional chef?

The hotel line is a flourishing business in India and anyone planning to take this up as a career requires to have a cool mind and the ability to function well within a team.

What is that one ingredient you cannot cook without?

Garlic is an important ingredient in oriental cuisine and can enhance the flavour of any dish instantly when added.

Someone famous you would like to cook for?

Amitabh Bachchan is someone who I would love to cook a meal for. I have always admired his work.