Amid the hustle, Mumbai chefs go back in time to recall their early days of cook

From Massimo Boturo confessing to eavesdropping on senior chefs discussing techniques to late Anthony Bourdain working seafood gigs in his early days chefs are the epitome of hustle for the love of cooking Recently a young chef in New York City created a global stir for selling fried rice out of his car trunk After the 22yearold chef Yony Hungrsquos VenezuelanChinese fried rice went viral it drew in large crowds with foodies travelling a long distance for a serving Here are our desi chefsrsquo recollections of their early days of the grindlsquoBurnt rice learnt lesson of hustlersquoAjay Chopra celebrity chef and consultant chefDuring my days at IHM Goa I was that overenthusiastic student who practically lived there One lunch service while cooking for nearly 400 students I made a classic mistake I burnt an entire batch of rice Within minutes the entire dining hall knew The roar of complaint was a moment of embarrassment but in hindsight it was those early burns mdash both of the rice and of my ego mdash that shaped me The learning continued outside the classroom through outdoor catering gigs with the Taj We worked 12hour shifts for 75 a day driven by a simple powerful mantra If you want to eat the butter chicken you first have to carry the chairs The hustle was real raw and unforgettable But it sharpened us Those early days taught me resilience the art of jugaad and one nonnegotiable rule no matter what happens show up cook and finish the servicelsquoWorked at a kebab stall set off on a trawlerrsquoRanveer Brar celebrity chef and actorA young Ranveer Brar fillets a fish during his early years in the kitchenI was 17 when I decided to stay away from home for seven months mdash to work at a kebabwala called Munir Ustad behind Odeon cinema in Lucknow This was a rebellious act to prove that I was doing something meaningful and was one of the first of the many stupid rookie things I would prep the charcoal grind spices and nothing more I never even got to the stove The cart is long gone the owner has passed away but that time made me the chef that I am and value every job in the kitchen The training was strict they came hard at you Later when I was 19 I moved to Goa As a Delhi boy who was unfamiliar with seafood and was incharge of Morisco a seafood restaurant at Taj Fort Aguada Resort I sought permission from my seniors and took 10 days off to set out on a trawler for fivesix days I spent another four days around fish markets When I returned I could identify fish and had learnt KonkanilsquoIrsquod brine the hog in my bath tubrsquoAlex Sanchez chefpartner Americano and OtraA dated photograph of Alex Sanchez on the right in the Americano kitchenWhen I was 18 years old I talked my way into a job at the local sandwich shop down the street from where I grew up in San Francisco It wasnrsquot glamorous work but I loved it and it set the stage for my career in the kitchen On my off days I would keep myself busy by catering whenever I could find someone willing to take a chance on me it didnrsquot hurt that I was young and affordable I soon became known for my pig roasts I would drive out to the farms about four hours from San Francisco and get my hogs at wholesale prices I didnrsquot have my own commercial kitchen so Irsquod brine the pigs in my bathtub with plenty of ice Irsquod stay up all night baking Parker House Rolls making all of the sauces and accompaniments Then I would show up to the event location around 4 am dig a pit and start a fire The pig was wrapped in leaves and buried in the ground where it would slowly cook for hours When the guests arrived I would lay everything out on a table and cut away the leaves to reveal the whole steaming hog The meat was so tender you could eat it with a spoon It was wild and liberating and exhausting all at oncelsquoTurned a minivan into a popup storersquoAditi Handa chef owner The Bakerrsquos DozenAditi Handa reads the menu at the Bandra storeBack in 2014 we had to shut our Bandra store for two days due to termite treatment in the building A twoday closure meant a loss in sales and at that stage every single sale mattered Instead of shutting shop we turned our delivery tempo into a mini popup store We parked it across the road stocked it with products and continued sales A team member would stand outside the closed store and if a customer walked up theyrsquod guide them to the tempo lsquoDonrsquot worry tell us what you need we have everything right herersquo For those two days that truck became our entire operation from shelves the counter and service Looking back it was chaotic but it was also creative resourceful and a lot of fun That experience taught me very early that hustle isnrsquot just about working hard but about adapting improvising and doing whatever it takes to serve the customer Such makeshift moments shape you the most

Amid the hustle, Mumbai chefs go back in time to recall their early days of cook

‘Burnt rice, learnt lesson of hustle’
Ajay Chopra, celebrity chef and consultant chef

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Home / Mumbai-guide / Things To Do / Article / Amid the hustle, Mumbai chefs go back in time to recall their early days of cook

Amid the hustle, Mumbai chefs go back in time to recall their early days of cook

‘Burnt rice, learnt lesson of hustle’Ajay Chopra, celebrity chef and consultant chef

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

‘Burnt rice, learnt lesson of hustle’
Ajay Chopra, celebrity chef and consultant chef