Executive Chef Asish Kumar Roy

Rambagh Palace, Jaipur

With 29 years of culinary experience under his belt, Asish Kumar Roy stepped in as Executive Chef of Rambagh Palace, Jaipur again in 2017, after serving as a pre-opening Executive Chef at The Gateway Hotel, EM Bypass, Kolkata, since 2012. Chef Roy was Executive Sous Chef at Taj Bengal, Kolkata prior to joining Rambagh Palace as Executive Chef. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Calcutta.

Recognized as an Emerging Leader of Taj, Roy joined the Taj leadership program in June of 2008. Roy’s impressive resume includes serving as the Head Chef at Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s party at Raj Bhawan, Calcutta in February 2007, and serving as Chef-in-Charge of the War Ship at the prestigious fleet review for President of India, held at Visakhapatnam in February 2006.

An accomplished chef, Roy has won numerous medals in culinary competitions and was selected as one of Ten Best Continental Chefs of Taj group of Hotels back in 2001. Chef Roy was also awarded “Silver Hat Chef” Award by the Indian Culinary Forum. Roy has also appeared on TV and participated in several international food festivals around the country.

Roy received a TD Diploma in Cookery from IHM, Calcutta and a Certificate in Food Principle in Cookery from City Guild, London. He also holds a P.G. Diploma in Hotel Management, 1st Class.

 


Q & A with Executive Chef Asish Kumar Roy


1. The main influences that made me interested in food and cooking as a career..

My mother - she was an excellent cook with a lot of innovation.

2. My earliest memory in the kitchen..

In a small picnic where I made Aloo kabli which was much appreciated by my boyhood friends.

3. My favourite dish to cook..

Sorse bhekti

4. A cuisine that I want to learn..

Israeli Cuisine

5. My secret to great food..

Passion during the time of cooking.

6. The last cookbook I bought or the last incident that has inspired you..

Last cookbook –Anglo Indian Food and Customs by Patricia Brown. To achieve the Best Chef of India in 4,5 & 5-star deluxe category inspired me a lot.

7. A culinary show that I love to watch..

All cookery shows of Chef Gordon Ramsay.

8. In my free time, I would like to..

Think of different pre-plating combination with light western music.

9. The kind of adaptations I have had to make while combining two cuisines/palates/guest taste..

Which two cuisines I can amalgamate. I always like to amalgamate French and Awadhi cuisine to form a plate or new contemporary Indian preparation’s.

10. My guilty pleasure..

To overfeed people in spite of some prior portion restriction-  informed to me.

11. I will describe my restaurant/hotel to a first time customer..

Create a faith that a guest is in his/her home, the way guest gets most palatable food as per his/her choice.

12. My menu design.... what kind of research goes into its preparation, can you walk us through the process..

  • Data from voice of customer
  • To incorporate fresh catch and freshly plucked greens
  • Affordability
  • Pricing
  • Balancing of spices
  • Easy delivery time to maintain consistency

13. My recommendations in my Suvarna Mahal restaurant..

Speciality Indian cuisine restaurant where I operate four palace cuisine.

14. What is the unique dining experience In your hotel.  How was this conceived..

In my hotel different points are there for the unique dining experiences. Usually, we offer the venue as per the celebration of the guest to conceptualize the theme, menu as well as ambiance.