Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Goa
A multi-dimensional varied culinary experience with over 3 years of training in various kitchens from Awadhi to modern Indian to pure cuisines as Italian, Cantonese, French in various flagship properties of IHCL – Masala Bay, Orient Express, the much coveted Chambers, Machaan etc.
Starting his journey with Taj Holiday Village as a full time employee soon after completing his Hotelier Development Programme, Steve has grown from strength to strength. As his first time in charge of kitchens of House of Nomad and Seven Rivers he is quickly picking up the nuances of these two much talked about outlets in Goa.
Passionate about cooking, he feels that since he is an introvert, he can nevertheless express his emotions thru cooking. From a young age of 7 and from being alone at home as both parents were working, he started experimenting with dosa that he used to see him mom make. Slowly, this caught his imagination and with his parent’s encouragement, he progressed dosas to complex complete meals. This love for making basic meals developed into a career decision.
His love for Asian food remains close to his heart and at every opportunity that he gets to experiment with his food he bring about the basics of Asian cooking with an essence of Indian savoury crepe. Believing that years of practise can make a dish as simple as a dosa to be the best in his arsenal. He says "cooking is all about connecting cultures”
Dedicated and committed, he is a passionate professional with a proven ability in expressing his passion thru his food. When not cooking for others, he reads.
1. The main influences that made me interested in food and cooking as a career…
Usually being a reserved person, it always was an easier way for me to express emotions and ideas thru my food.
2. My earliest memory in the kitchen…
Telling mum about my day at school while my mother made dosa and I helped her in my own way
3. My favourite dish to cook…
Orange Chicken with Jasmine Rice, Panda Express Style
4. A cuisine that I want to admire and want to learn…
Sri Lankan Cuisine
5. My secret to great food…
Research and passion. They go hand in hand to elevate experiences.
6. The last cookbook I bought…
Around the World in 80 Plates
7. The Chef that inspires me...
Chef Arun Sundararaj. He was my first mentor. There is no one else I can look upto for more knowledge, and leadership skills to carry myself better every day.
8. A culinary show that I love to watch…
David Rocco's Dolce Series
9. In my free time, I like to…
Work on my research papers on food and business
10. The kind of adaptations I have had to make while combining two cuisines…
Running through the history of those cuisines and finding a common ingredient. Like, trade in old times with Indonesia led to discovering fermentation of rice cakes adapted by South Indian cuisines resulting in idli and dosa.
11. My guilty pleasure…
Desserts. I find myself dropping by our bakery every other hour.
12. I will describe my restaurant to a first-time visitor…
Seven Rivers: A brewpub with simple, locally sourced plated produce that pairs with authentically crafted beers to muster a social sojourn.
House of Nomad: For travellers or our ‘Nomads’ in their journey to instil conversational sparks with our cocktails and vibrant dishes from German classics to Goan specialities expressed in vibrant plating.
13. My menu design…
Simplistic food, freshest produce, authentic that honours classics.
14. My recommendations in my restaurant…
Seven Rivers: Camarao De Rissois
House of Nomad: Chicken Picante
