Chef Kishor: On his GRAND-iose cooking

Originally from New Delhi , Indian Born, Executive Sous-Chef Kishor Chamola was lured into the culinary world when his passion for this industry and for food was recognized at an early age. 

Born Talented at the very early age of 15 Chef Kishor Has decided to take his journey to a further path where he can master his skills and improve his knowledge. Chef Kishor went on to study the culinary arts at The Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology of Lucknow, where he learned to develop his own unique style and flair. He continued with his career at exclusive restaurants and hotels such as Radisson hotel , Hotel Beach Rotana & Jaypee Groups of Hotels.

After the successful completion of School , a degree of Bachelor of Science in Hospitality & Hotel administration has been earned by Chef Kishor in June 2006.Radisson Hotel was the first to put hand on this successful Learner in 2006, where he officially started cooking as a profession. Over the years, Chef Kishor worked under influential different leaders in the culinary profession from different cuisine backgrounds which helped to shape his style and depth of knowledge.

Enjoying challenges Chef Kishor competed in several cooking competitions where he gained many awards in India, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. Well Experienced Certified in HACCP, Computing & Leadership programs gave him the opportunity to join the family of Elite Hospitality in 2011.

How is it working in Bahrain ?

Chef Kishor says “ Working in Bahrain for the last 2 years has been really enjoyable specially that I have been surrounded by caring & experienced people, being able to share my knowledge and to keep myself in the bubble of learning makes my future even brighter

What dish describes you the most ?

Chef Kishor says “ If you ask witch dish describes me the most I would tell you it’s not really a dish it’s a more of a item where you can develop many dishes from. I would pick Mashed Potatoes, and would tell you why. Mashed Potatoes can be modified into several dishes, where creativity keeps challenging you, without forgetting the benefits of it : Potatoes can increase brain function, could prevent cardiovascular disease, and believe it or not it could help your skin care with all the rich vitamins.

What’s your cooking philosophy ?

Chef Kishor says “ My cooking philosophy is to keep innovating my way of cooking & to keep introducing new things to the Culinary world.There’s so many dishes I would like to talk about and share but if I had to pick one I would go with one of my favorite Beef Roulade and maybe a nice shrimp salad to start with. 

Chef Kishor presents one of  the best seller at Julio's in Elite Grande Hotel 

Beef Roulade

Ingredients	Quantity
Beef Steak	150 grm
Red Peppers	30 grm
Fresh Spinach	40 grm
Fried Onion	20 grm
Mozzarella cheese	25 grm
Parmesan cheese	25 grm
Basil	2 sprig
Potato cubes boiled	40 grm
Salt	to taste
Crushed Black Peppers	1 tbsp
Artichoke heart	20 grm
Olive oil	2 tbsp

1)     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2)     Flat the beef steak with hammer , season with salt and pepper.

3)     Place the spinach in an even layer over the steak. Next layer the  Fried Onions, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese on top of the spinach.

4)     Roll the steak tightly into a log.  Tie with kitchen twine every 2 inches along the length of the roll. Generously season the outside of the roulade with salt and pepper.

5)     Place the oil in a large, oven-proof sauté pan and warm over medium-high heat until a few droplets of water sizzle when carefully sprinkled in the pan.

6)     Sear the roulade until well-browned on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the roulade in the oven to finish cooking, about 20 to 25 minutes for medium. Let the roulade rest for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the kitchen twine. Slice into 1-inch thick slices and serve with black pepper spiced potatoes.

7)     Garnish with a sprig of basil leaves. 

For Black pepper spiced potatoes:

1)     Boil the potatoes cut in cubes.

2)    Take 5 ml of olive oil,& heat it than sauté the potatoes in the same.

3)    Add salt, crushed black pepper and shredded sundried tomatoes.

Chef Saurav: On a Crystal view

Executive Sous Chef Saurav Nag has been working for Elite Hospitality for the past six years. According to him, it is really challenging to work in this country and having to deal with people from all walks of life with different languages and culture. For someone like him who is also a total stranger to the Arab world, one of the best experiences is to learn Arabic dishes.
Let's meet Chef up close... 

1. When did you start being passionate about food and cooking?
I love eating different kinds of food used to cook at home while parents were not around, I used whatever ingredients we had and cook it my way. That’s how it started my passion in cooking. I mainly cooked Indian cuisine at first and later on become interested in some other dishes like international cuisine. 

2. When and where did you start cooking as a profession?
I started my profession way back 1996 at Trident Ahmedabad (Oberoi Group).

3. Do you have any degree in Culinary? Any special trainings?
Yes, I had a Diploma in Hotel Management in India, Undergone some training and one of those is at Oberoi Bangalore, Rim Naam with a Thai Chef.

4. What is the one dish that best describe you?
The one dish which best describe me is the “Panfried grilled chicken fillet with milk and seasonal vegetables in pear sauce”

Seasonal vegetable in this dish gives you the flexibility to create the same dish with whatever available vegetable in the Kitchen, without compromising the taste.

Panfried grilled chicken fillet with milk and  seasonal vegetables in pear sauce”

5.        Describe your cooking philosophy

My cooking philosophy is simple to present luscious fresh ingredients with a soothing  taste which goes best to the taste buds  and with a unique presentation that is appealing to the eye which makes them feel hungry.

Vegetable &  Haloumi Cheese stock

6.   Do you see yourself doing something else in the future aside from being Chef?
Since cooking is something I really love to do, I could say in the near future, maybe in God’s will I would have my own restaurant in my country.

7. Do you cook for wife and kids at home? What are their favorites?
Yes, during my off day I cook and experiment some dishes for them and get an honest feedback from my wife and kids. Their all time favorite is of course from my own dish, chicken Biryani and sweet and sour cottage cheese.

Recipe:

Pan fried Stuffed Chicken Breast with Pear Sauce

Ingredients :
1 Chicken Breast Boneless

2 gm Garlic chop
5 gm Onion Chop
10 ml Olive Oil
Salt To Taste
White Pepper to taste
Crushed Black pepper to taste
100 gm cottage cheese
15 gm Sundried Tomatoes
10 gms Green Olives
15 gms Prunes
3 gms Pinenuts
Few Sprigs Of Basil
3 nos Asparagus Fresh
1 Medium Size Aubergine
2 ml Balsamic Vinegar
4 Nos Plum Cherry Tomato
1 No Green or Red Pears
20 gm Butter
10 Ml Cream
1 gm Parsley
Rosemary Sprig
30 ml White wine

Methods :

1 ) Take a chicken breast with Bone in. On a cutting board, lightly press the chicken breast flat with one hand; using a sharp knife, carefully cut into side of breast to form a deep horizontal pocket.
2 ) Make the stuffing of chicken with grated cottage cheese ,sundried tomato ,olives ,prunes ,pinenuts ,basil leaves 7 garlic and mixed the mixture properly and add the seasoning.
3 ) When the mixture is ready put inside the pocket and sealed the chicken pocket with little egg mixture or you can even seal the chicken pocket with tooth pick.
4 ) Marinade the chicken with olive oil ,salt and seasoning ,garlic and rosemary.
5 ) Then pan fry the chicken in griddle till the griddle marks come and the chicken is cooked.
6 ) Take 3 peices of fresh asparagus head and blanched it.Slice the aubergine and take out 3 slice of aubergine and marinade with salt and balsamic vinegar.
7 ) Grilled the aubergine and the rolled it over asparagus head.
8 ) Saute 3 peices of plum cherry tomatoes.

For the chicken sauce :
9 )Take a saucepan and heat butter.Then add chop onion and chop garlic and sauté it for few seconds.
10 )Then add white wine and reduce the wine.
11 ) Add seasoning and finish the sauce with with cream ,slice of pears ,seasoning and chop parsley and cook for few minutes.
12 ) Then arrange the chicken ,the asparagus ,cherry tomatoes in a plate and garnish with sprig of rosemary and serve hot.