Chef Siddharth, who sees an 18+ years of experience in Pan-Asian Cuisine, is presently associated with Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd as a Brand Chef (Pan-India) for Mamagoto chain of restaurants. His area of expertise includes wok, dimsum, sushi, ramen and robata. In his initial days he worked extensively in Wok with Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian Chefs but later as he progressed in his career with multinational brands, he mastered other Asian cooking skills as well. The skills he gained from working in restaurant to large hotels allowed him to make jump from a Kitchen Executive trainee to Executive Chef in his career. He creates his own recipes and has strong influence on the menu which combines traditional cooking which he has learnt in the past with modern style of cooking which is influenced by modern Pan Asian cuisine. Apart from his cooking skills he implements strict quality control to ensure that his food is safe and adheres to all food safety regulations and encourages his team members to follow the same.
Craft and the passion are important in the kitchen, but he can look beyond it into the economics and the marketability of the food. His strengths are: he believes in teamwork, learning, innovation, and customer satisfaction. In his leisure time he likes spending time with family, listening to music, and watching sports channels.
What has been your inspiration for this trade?
My father and maternal grandmother both come from a hospitality background. All that I began with was the lessons I got from them. When I watched them both working, it inspired me to want to be like them. Also, their work ethic inspired me to follow in their footsteps. My father taught me not to give up in the face of adversity, and my maternal grandmother instilled in me the ability to know when to push hard and when to slow down.
Mamagoto has been iconic in giving people a great taste of oriental flavours? Is there anything different that you have done with the menu in Goa?
Mamagoto is India's first pan Asian café, which pioneered informal dining in the genre in the country and is now located in a heritage property in Panjim. A genuine foodie on vacation in Goa can't miss the seafood with flavorful spices, therefore we've created a few dishes that showcase the fresh local seafood as well as some pork dishes.
When conceptualizing a new project what are the few things that you always take care of?
When conceiving a new idea, it is critical to focus thoughts on specific dimensions and seek answers to specific problems in order to assist the idea progress from conception through the various stages of innovation. Understanding the local market, looking at local competitors, and determining the depth of spending capacity are just a few factors that we at Azure Hospitality keep in mind. Before entering into something new, we concentrate on reinforcing the parameters while evolving our concept.
While designing a team what are all things you take into consideration?
A team is always the pillar of any company, so we choose talent who can balance work, know work ethic, and complementary strengths according to the role.
What is take to sustain the competition?
Competition in business may be strong, especially in fast-moving markets where buyers frequently shop around. Product innovation and consistency and therefore constantly expanding the brand's appeal and reach.
What had been your comeback mantra to adapt to the businesses post the pandemic?
One segment that faced extraordinary challenges is the Hospitality sector. It became imperative to trim all the unnecessary costs and empower the team to do more with fewer resources. We have worked and thought differently in every aspect to be in the market, such as studying the new market with new demands, adding more healthy dishes to the menu, and many more.
As a chef what do you feel is your biggest strength?
Our biggest strength is the food quality being consistent by using top-quality ingredients, standard recipes, and a well-trained team to execute the same.
