The Wisdom Diary of a Chef and a Consultant.

HospiBuz: Chef you have worked in Hotels as well as cruise. Please tell us how different it is to work at both places? 

Chef Vinod Warade: Well, both have their own pros & cons. While talking about work different in hotel jobs, the volume of everything-- food, drinks, and people are much less than on a cruise ship. That means you have less pressure to deliver quality service in that quantity, but nowadays trends are changing in both places, both offer a better chance at innovation & creativity from lower down the hierarchy chain. I worked for 4.5 years on board which sails from almost 15 different countries from 2 sub-continents, working on board any cruise ship is guaranteed way to travel in style. A cruise ship provides staff with opportunities to mix up their experience with each contract - an Italian Restaurant to exotic oriental fine dining or steak house. In hotel jobs often have staff are working the same circuit for a longer period of time, but this allows them to fine tune skills in that Specialisation. While talking about perks/benefits/rewards then I would say the cruise is a great way of life. It is a great way to travel while working for cruise your food, airfare, accommodation, tax-free salary & medical expenses are all covered so it is a great way to save money. Hotels offer lower pay but more Consistent income. Working in a hotel job is more comfortable & secure. It allows you to spend time with your dear & near. The 6-8 month contracts that come with cruise ship job mean extended time away from family and friends.

HospiBuz: At a cruise, the chefs have some restrictions on cooking certain dishes and certain techniques. Please share with us any funny stories or your experience at cruise?

Chef Vinod Warade: Yes, I had wonderful work experience on board of carnival cruise lines. There is a Restriction that everyone must follow while working in the kitchen. There are Standards set for cooking by USPH (united state public health) which everyone must follow, also all cooks need to prepare or season recipes as per company’s culinary vision. Talking about my experience on a cruise that I enjoyed working on a cruise ship. I met the most amazing chefs, people & had the most unforgettable experience in Galley.

The Galley (kitchen) is the heartbeat of it all. The rhythm of a galley creates an ever-flowing trade wind between Passenger/guest and entire dining room staff & dining room has become highly anticipated main event for Guest & surpassing expectation is the name of the game.

Cooking at sea is extremely demanding job & entirely different than cooking on land or hotels. Galley work is full of challenges & subject to the condition of the sea. Cruise line serves Passengers 24/7 from few hundreds to 5000 or more. The chefs & his culinary team have the duty to make sure that all cooks are preparing /seasoning recipes in accordance with companies culinary vision, definitely not their own.

Chefs/cooks on cruise ships are some of the hardest working people I have ever known. There is no day off at sea. It is a seven day work week, this place has a tremendous workload on the chefs & their team. However, it can be a very rewarding experience, where one can learn new culinary skills & forge international friendships that can last a lifetime. I enjoyed different food culture, cuisine, exciting ports of call, made lasting friendship, broadening my horizons while honing my skills as a chef.

HospiBuz: You are a culinary development Chef at Zion Hospitality Pvt Ltd. please tell us about your work there and give us some insights on culinary development?

Chef Vinod Warade: In a brief it starts from the idea of opening the restaurant till the first guest arrives which is considered pre-opening operation. To ensure everything is right the implementation of the process is post opening agenda which is a continuous process. 

Since everything revolves around food our work starts from

1. The brief from a restaurant owner about his vision and idea

2. Selection of location as per business demand

3. Concept Proposal with a proper mood board

4. Giving a brief to civil team and architect about how to allocate front and the back area and aesthetics of the restaurant as per mood board

5. Business plan with sales forecast and budget

6. designing the workflow layout and identify kitchen equipment requirements, layout and design, and installation

7. Research on innovative ideas and ingredients for the menu, and develop them in our food lab and prepare the menu and implement it.

8. Developing new concepts, trends and food innovation with celebrity Chef Ajay Chopra. And the list is unlimited for doing a thing as culinary development chefs.

HospiBuz: What is your take on the tradition authentic Indian cuisines?

Chef Vinod Warade: Indian cuisine is our heritage and it's in our roots, being the son of a farmer and then becoming a chef, personally, my interaction with my cuisine started from the day I was born As a chef, it is absolutely necessary to stick to roots and evolve the food. “Be local, go global’’.

HospiBuz: How well are IHMs training the chefs for their future?

Chef Vinod Warade: IHM institutes are premium Institutes in India, but the major focus is on theoretical studies, students don’t get much exposure to the practical side of the industry.

HospiBuz: Where do you see the culinary world of India in the next 10 years?

Chef Vinod Warade: With awareness through media both from the customer point of view and chef’s point of view India is rapidly growing and having a huge impact on world culinary forum and is well established on the world culinary map. We have already achieved very high regard in the international market in terms of our cuisine. I am sure within 10 years you will find an Indian restaurant in each and every city in the world. Still, many more to discover in our regional cuisine.

HospiBuz: One ingredient which you think if absent makes the kitchen incomplete?

Chef Vinod Warade:Salt

HospiBuz: One word for food?

Chef Vinod Warade: “Culture’’ (Sharing different food culture could perhaps build bridges between people of the world)

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