Chef Asish Chitrakar, a skilled garde manger chef was in the City recently to showcase his skills and to share his expertise.
An interactive session was held at Casa del Sol for hotel management students, chefs and industry professionals apart from regular guests. Exceptionally skilled, Chef Asish can not only create magic with fruits but also crave out masterpieces from ice, chocolate and butter.
Chef Asish, who has been in the industry for 20 years now, working in various prestigious hotels both in India and abroad, believes that this is an art by itself. “My father was an artist and I was always artistic. I think the only difference is that I connected art to the hotel industry,” he says.
Being artistic certainly seems to have helped Asish as he has never received professional training for his work. “I acquired these skills while watching other chefs at work,” he shares.
And is his work difficult? “I have been doing it for a long time so it isn't that difficult for me. But ice sculptures can always be demanding. One must think on his feet while making them because there isn't much time and there is a possibility of the ice breaking,” says the chef.
And how does it feel to be imparting knowledge to students? “It feels good and a lot of students are very interested. The only thing is that they don’t seem to have patience,” says Asish laughing.
Says Chef Vijay Bakshi, Executive Chef and Manager, Casa del Sol, “We wanted the next generation of chefs to interact with Asish because these skills have to go on just like any other art.
“It is important to preserve this form of art as well. Besides, students love interacting with experts such as Asish because they can learn a lot from them.”
On a parting note, Metrolife asked the chef for some tips. “Practise a lot, have a lot of patience and as the instruments used are very sharp, watch your hands! (laughs)”. Chef Asish' s work was on display at the restaurant for the weekend.