Being a Chef is not a profession, its a lifestyle- Chef Prantik Bhandari

HospiBuz:- Chef, you have worked with Brand 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 Prantik Bhandari:-Breakfast happens to be the most important meal of the day and in any establishment which caters to multi-cultured guests, a lot of things needs to be kept in mind. So it takes a lot of effort and inputs to give the guests a wow experience to start the day.

Few of them are as follows:-

• Understand the clientele, age, profession, etc.

• Focus on local delicacies.

• Do production in batches that allow giving freshest possible food to the guests and also minimizing wastage.
• Keep USPs like the dish of the day which will be a talking point for the service personnel.
• Maintain a daily consumption and production record to do a production of right quantity.
• Design a menu in such a way that meets the requirements of the guests rather than just putting it for the sake of doing. Instead of 50 dishes on the menu of no use, it's better to put, 10 good things which guests would appreciate.

HospiBuz:-Chef, please tell us about your work cycle at Trident Hotels?

Chef Prantik Bhandari:- Well in Trident hotels, I was a part of the team. So it was a different experience altogether from chef cap to safety helmets. It was really fun pulling trolleys and unwrapping the brand new equipment and machinery. Post opening, I set up the employee cafeteria, club lounge and banquet kitchen. This was again a pleasant experience. Even today, when I visit the hotel, the sense that 'I was the first to lit the ranges of this kitchen ', takes me back to the golden days.

HospiBuz:-Please tell us about one training of your IHM which has helped you a lot in your career?

Chef Prantik Bhandari:- IHM Kolkata is a place which made me what I am today. I learned the basics of my trade from my college. Three golden words-'Duty, dignity and discipline' was injected in our blood on the very first day. I think that's the biggest learning I had.

HospiBuz: Give us some insights on the training which are given in the hotels?

Chef Prantik Bhandari:-Hotel training is the training of different level. Starting from receiving fresh ingredients to washing plates in kitchen stewarding, everything has contributed to make me a self-dependent chef. Hotel training and working conditions make a person so strong that he can survive in any working conditions.

HospiBuz: One line on a Chef’s life?

Chef Prantik Bhandari:-To be a chef is not a profession, but a lifestyle.

HospiBuz:One ingredient without which kitchen would be incomplete for you?

Chef Prantik Bhandari:-The smiling face of my colleagues.

Read also:-        

Breaking the stereotype of patriarchy- Chef Ali Zafar

Pastry Chef from the Sheraton Kitchen

Food brings people together- Rajat Sachdeva