Whenever I ask chefs about the time they started cooking, more often than not, they talk about being keen observers in the kitchen first. Chef Rajesh Singh also began by helping out his mother in the kitchen. Then, with an ample amount of trial and error, he started preparing food that was more than just “edible”, he tells me. In his career, he has been associated with many premier F&B properties. His stint at Taj began in the year 2016. As an Executive-Sous Chef of Taj Mahal, New Delhi, he has been the brainchild behind many new menus, innovative recipes and trends.
In my interaction with the chef extraordinaire, I also learned about his leaning towards Indian food, fascination with butter chicken, favourite tools, and life mantra—excerpts from a freewheeling chat.
Q. When did you start cooking?
I started cooking when I was in class 10. I was always interested in what my mother prepared and decided to take it upon an impulse.
Q. Easiest and the most challenging dishes to make according to you
Butter chicken, for me, is by far the easiest dish to cook because it’s so widespread and consumed everywhere that at most points in my life, I have also eaten a lot of it. Khad Murgh from Rajasthan Is the most demanding dish to cook because it is made using zameendoz and hot sand, and coal.
Q. A chef you admire could be a peer or a celebrity
My Executive Chef, Chef Arun Sundararaj. He has helped me become what I am today over the past few years and has entrusted me with a lot of responsibility. It’s allowed me to open up to new avenues and go from strength to strength
Q. If you had a day off, where would you go to satisfy your foodie cravings within India and abroad
The streets of Delhi to enjoy and savour the best it has to offer.
Q. A funny kitchen memory that you would want to share with us
I remember we once had a VIP sit-down dinner, and we had a lovely truffle quiche. The base for a quiche is a pate brisee or a salt paste. Sixty minutes before service started, I tasted one and got a horrible sweetness. I then realized that my cook put caster sugar instead of salt. We managed to salvage the dish, but his goof-up was hilarious and was laughed about for months after that.
Q. A kitchen tool you cannot live without
A knife. It is truly an extension of my body and is how I express my creativity and skill.
Q. A valuable cooking tip you recently learned that you would want to share with us
Not recent, but... always cook for no one but yourself; only then can you truly achieve perfection.
Q. How important is it to know about the cuisine to cook something from that cuisine? Or is knowing the recipe enough
Understanding the cuisine is the most important thing. Anyone can follow a recipe, but you cook blindly without knowing why each process is in place or why particular ingredients are being used. In addition, food, culture and heritage are closely related to topography and many other things.