Chef Soundararajan:-
Dr. Chef Soundararajan, General Secretary of Indian Federation of Culinary Associations and the Corporate Executive Chef of Mahindra holidays and Resorts India Ltd. No wonder, Chef Soundararajan serves as an advisor for several Hotel Management colleges in India. Chef Soundararajan is also holding along with Chef Sanjay Thakur, Guinness book of world records for creating a restaurant at the highest altitude of the earth
Give us a brief history of your career and what made you choose to be a chef.
All I wanted was to choose a career with abundant scope. It was my Uncle who pushed me in the right direction and motivated me to choose the culinary arts. Once I started dabbling in the culinary arts, I knew that it was what my heart wanted and I haven’t looked back since. Through dedication and practice, I soon developed the aptitude required for a culinary professional to be successful.
Who was the person that was most influential in your career?
There is a long list of people who are responsible for my success as a culinary professional. However, the person who taught me the most basic lesson in cooking was my mother, who imbued in me the philosophy, ‘Cook with your heart rather than your hands.’
What is your culinary philosophy and has it changed throughout your career and why?
Food is all about combining the art and science of culinary skills and has to be made with passion, served with flair. Every cuisine is unique and people of a particular place adapt to their regional cuisine rather than just prefer it. To keep to authentic flavors, I always use fresh, preferably authentic ingredients that can be sourced locally. I like to taste the dish before adding salt to it so that I can sense its real flavors. None of these beliefs and habits has changed over the course of my 28 years as a culinary professional.
What was the moment you are most proud of in your career?
I consider the incorporation in the Indian Federation of Culinary Association and its inclusion into the WACS as one of the landmarks of my career. This has given me the opportunity to learn and adapt to new developments in the profession of culinary arts through networking and knowledge sharing. It makes me immensely proud to have made some great friends for life, whom I could have not possibly met if not for the association and ofcourse getting Doctorate from the hands of Dr. Abdul Kalam
Is there anything you would not eat or try?
Probably the meat , not cooked.
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