A master in international flavors but still connected to his roots

HospiBuz: Chef, you have worked with Branded Hotels. Please tell us about the breakfast planning in these hotels. Tell us about how they design the lavish breakfast and what steps are taken to avoid food wastage?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- Having worked at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, I had the experience to see their breakfast setups for three years. They have two outlets serving breakfast one called Sea Lounge and the other Shamiana. Each for a different wing of the hotel. The breakfasts had multiple live counters such as eggs, waffles, etc which made dishes to order. This was one way they helped reduce wastage. The team usually gets a max count in the hotel to estimate how much food would be required. The Taj would get guests from all over the world, so the menu would have breakfast dishes from all over. Indian being quite a high amount in this. To my surprise, the last seating of breakfast would be cooked as per order if in case any dishes on the buffet were over. Keeping dishes at the optimum temperature allowed them to reuse/utilized in other outlets. For example, grilled sausages would go to the IRD for breakfast orders in the room after the buffet would be closed. The menus would change daily on a 15-day cycle to ensure long staying guests would not get the same dishes.

HospiBuz: You are the owner of Casa Playa, Goa. Please tell us something about it?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- I am the Head Chef of Casa Playa. It is a beachside restaurant situated on the cliff of Vagator Beach, Goa. The menu reflects on my travels around the world, having influences from Spain, Portugal, etc. The menu is primarily European but draws influence from flavors from around the world and using local produce. Our menu plays according to the season, hence we change our menu almost 4 times a year. It is a fairly new restaurant, being just over a year old but we are humbled to have won the best fusion inspired restaurant at the Times Food Awards. Casa Playa will always evolve into something different each time. Next season it will be something completely different.

HospiBuz: You have worked both in India and abroad? Please tell us one thing that you miss about India?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- India is my home ground. There's always an advantage of working here. Be it the language, how you can understand the market, ingredients and food trends. When I worked in Spain, Japan, and France,  it was an eye-opener. I feel that they are years ahead of us in terms of restaurant trends, focus on high-quality ingredients and acceptability in the market. But I must say, the one thing that I missed the most living abroad was Food. You can't get the Indian out of me.

HospiBuz: You have worked with Grover Vineyards. Please tell us about your work and responsibilities there?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- Grover Vineyards was just an internship I did while studying in IHM Mumbai. I worked at their vineyard right outside Bangalore. Since I always wanted to be a chef, I wanted to learn about wine further since a drink pairing with your food is such an important thing. I got to learn in detail about their wine making process, cultivation of grapes and even got to organize a few food and wine pairings. It was a great understanding of the wine market here in India(Although it is ever changing)

HospiBuz: Give us some insights on the training which is given to trainees in Hotels?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- I believe training given in hotels is very important. It builds a great foundation for future chef's. The initial part of one's career should always be learning the basics. Hotels have a great standard of work, be it hygiene, standard recipes, etc. Hotels give young chef's the opportunity to work in multiple sections and outlets. This gives them the chance to learn the basics in all and ultimately fall in love with a particular kind of cuisine. As a chef's, we have to be constantly learning. It's what drives us. Yes, I do believe the more creative outlets are stand-alone restaurants, but starting your career at a well-established hotel is a great way to learn the basics.

HospiBuz: What is the one thing about IHM which has helped you a lot in your career?

Chef Pablo Miranda:- IHM Mumbai was a place I moved to from Goa. Being out of my comfort zone was quite a scary thing to do for me back then. But being surrounded by like-minded and driven individuals it gave me an immense drive to excel in my line.IHM may just teach you what's in the syllabus, but it's the people that you study with which gives you that drive to learn all that and more. Even till this date, the relationships we've made in IHM has lasted till now over the Hospitality industry.IHM Mumbai had a great faculty that taught you to work ethics and everything else that would last throughout one's career.

HospiBuz: How important is beautiful food plating in the era of insta freaks?

Chef Pablo Miranda:-In food, there should always be a balance. Before plating, the flavor is something that needs to be built upon. Once there is a perfect balance of flavors on one's dish, does a chef then need to think about the plating. Unfortunately, there are chef's out there that do the opposite. Don't get me wrong, I am all for beautifully plated food, but for me, everything on the plate should have a purpose and not only for the sake of making the plate look pretty. David Chang's famous hashtag is #uglydelicious which means that ugly looking food can also be delicious.

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