Here, he shares details about his work and personal favorites when it comes to food.[break]
What does your duty as Culinary Director entail? How challenging is it to work, keeping in mind three different restaurants?
I’m in charge of developing menus for the three restaurants. I also oversee the hiring and training of new staff, scheduling and ordering. My team and I make sure all the plates that go out of the kitchen meets our standards. And at the same time, we make sure the bottom line is being met, which is, keeping food cost and labor cost in check. While it’s challenging, I have a great team in each restaurant that does a great job in maintaining the quality of the kitchen.
hat are some of the earliest memories you have of the fondness for food and cooking that motivated you to be a chef?
My earliest memories were being in the kitchen with my grandma as she prepared food for the family. Since both my parents worked, I would be left in her care, and as she made dinner, I started being fascinated by the whole process. I would also watch my dad who also likes to cook, and my mom who is phenomenal in the kitchen, cook. All these experiences sharpened my interest and I chose to become a chef as it gave me a platform to be creative and happy.
Tell us about the restaurants and the kinds of foods that customers can expect?
Each restaurant is different, and it’s challenging to come up with new items for the menu. Restaurant Sei’s menu reflects a Japanese influence. We have an excellent Sushi menu, and along with it, we serve small plates that are inspired by the flavors of South Asia. We serve French Asian-inspired menu at Oya where we basically offer food that is infused with Asian flavors and textures but cooked with French technique and presentation. And at Restaurant Sax, we have a French-inspired menu.
We try to highlight local farmers and cheese makers. We use organic produce and natural meats. We have a great cheese selection that we get from our local cheese makers.
In your opinion, what are the winning combinations to make a quality restaurant?
Location, the food, the service, and the ambiance make for a quality restaurant. Location: If the restaurant isn’t easily accessible, it has a major disadvantage. Food: After all, food is what brings diners to restaurants. The menu has to be fresh and reflect the latest trends. It has to captivate the diner’s interest and at the same time be approachable. It should be affordable and include healthy options.
The service: The type of service is dictated by the type of restaurant, and the quality of service should never be compromised. From the host, to the servers, to the valet guys, all these people come in contact with the customers and can affect the experience of the customers. So it’s vital to train the staff in good service etiquette as they are the first and the last interactions a guest has with the restaurant. Diners will often come back even if the food was ok/good and the service was great as opposed to the food was great but the service was ok. The ambience: This is also important because if a place is very trendy, sleek and has a “sexy” vibe, people are always lining up to get in. When you walk into a restaurant with great ambiance, whether it be friendly staff, lovely furnishing, great music, mood lighting, beautiful decor, paintings, fresh flowers – whatever it is, it makes you more
comfortable in your surroundings.
What are your personal favorites when you sit down to order a meal?
Unless I’m really craving for something, I usually order something that looks interesting or something the Chef is known for. Apart from being a sucker for dumplings, I enjoy good steaks. I also enjoy Ramen, especially with pork belly. A couple of really good ramen restaurants have opened in DC because of its recent popularity. And to curb your late night hunger, you can’t go wrong with Korean BBQ.
Any plans of extending your culinary magic to Nepal?
I just came back to Nepal for a vacation after 12 years. I was really blown away by the culture of eating out. When I left Nepal, eating out was reserved for special occasions. Now casual restaurants are opening everywhere and people are eating some really good food. I would love to open a place in Nepal after a few years but right now I have much to learn. I’m in a great position right now where I can hone my skills further.
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A dedicated cook in training
KATHMANDU: Rahul Shrestha, 19, has always enjoyed cooking. He says, “I enjoy cooking for my family, be it baking cakes, tarts or cooking Thai curries and roast chicken cooked at 70 degrees for five hours.”
A student at the University of East Anglia in England, he is planning to utilize his vacations to learn some more. The talented young man has been offered three stints for the summer at Michelin-star restaurants: Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley Hotel in London, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, and Momofuku in New York.
“Since I always knew I loved cooking, it was more about following my dream and doing something I love and am passionate about. Being a cook is hard work. It’s not like what’s shown on those cooking shows. We have long hours and we need to work under pressure in a hot environment which needs a lot of commitment. But I believe it suits me very well,” he says.
At present, Rahul is focusing on research on the use of science in cooking for multi-sensory cooking, along with developing his own recipes. The fact that he lost 36 kilos of weight has further inspired him to work on creating less calorific dishes without compromising the flavors, he says.
Someday he wants to open a fine dining restaurant “Where I can serve my kind of food, which is a mix of classical techniques with modern cooking styles, such as the use of science in cooking or which is referred to as molecular gastronomy,” he says.
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