'HOWEVER GLOBAL MY STYLE OF COOKING IS, MY SOUL IS VERY‘DESI' WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD'

Chef Vicky Ratnani popularly known for his cook show Vickypedia, is a gourmand, connoisseur, and in his own words,‘a chef who is celebrated for his good work’. Having worked with various cruise liners and restaurants abroad in the initial years of his professional career, Chef Ratnani shares with Steena Joy his insights on the food scene in India and why he feels Indian cuisine has moved up in fineness into a different zone

How has your journey been as a chef?

I think what people must realise that a chef's career is not a bed of roses. It's been very hard work and I am not complaining about it. The journey of any professional in the F&B industry can be as volatile as they want it to be like accepting challenges; working long hours; staying away from family; spending nights in the middle of the rough waters of the ocean; celebrating when everyone is sleeping and actually working throughout the year when people are celebrating. So it has been an amazing journey in which it has been like an all round management school whereas a chef you learn about punctuality, productivity, morale and motivation, cost efficiency, etc. So it is actually all of the management that one can think of has come into my life. It's working with 37 different nationalities, learning a lot from different people. And, when I returned to India, I have been fortunate enough to set up two world-class restaurants which are Aurus and Nido where we did a lot of modern cooking. The F&B industry has moved by leaps and bounds. There are restaurants which come in and go out every day. Television has been good to increase the reach of the people. I used to serve 200-300 people in a restaurant, but it's a great feeling when you influence over 20 million people every year! So it has been a good journey until now and I would just say that at the end of the day I don't like the word celebrity chef. I am a chef who is celebrated for his good work.

Who has been your inspiration?

I have followed chefs in America who were culinary students or head chefs in restaurants and then went on to create their own restaurants and businesses in different verticals and empires around it. Jean-Georges, Daniel Bello are few of the chefs who have created multi-vertical businesses and restaurants.