A professional culinarian with unparalleled expertise in gastronomy that spans close to four decades, Chef Rajesh Wadhwa leads the culinary operations at the capital landmark, Taj Palace, New Delhi. A revered industry expert in conceptualizing and implementing new restaurant launches, Chef Wadhwa is a force to reckon with.
From having travelled as Former Late Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s personal chef to close to 14 different countries on official visits to showcasing cuisine and catering to global leaders he is truly a culinary genius.
What inspired you to pursue culinary arts as your career?
Throughout my formative years, food was my fascination. My mother’s simple, humble yet immensely flavoursome, home-style cooking spelt sheer comfort. Back in the day, culinary arts was hardly considered as a professional career… but despite all odds, I knew that I had to be a chef. The hotel industry in India was just beginning to take shape and cooking was my ultimate release! Today, it’s been close to four wonderful decades ever since!
What is your idea of innovation when it comes to food?
While out-of-the-box ideas and inventiveness is great in itself, when it comes to food, the practical applicability of innovation is where the success lies. Food is as much an art as it is a science and there is infinite scope of being innovative in the culinary sphere. However, I believe, and this is something I have gathered with experience over the last few decades, culinary innovation in professional kitchens is about creating a fine balance between five keys Cs – creativity, customer focus, consistency, commitment and cognition. These are critical in ensuring the success and sustainability of innovation in food.
What does it take to build an Iconic brand and keep up with its loyal customer base?
I have spent almost my entire professional journey with IHCL and most of it at the iconic Taj Palace, New Delhi – a hotel I proudly call home. I am fortunate to have been associated with a hotel that has been trendsetter in the culinary sphere – from restaurants with a legacy like the iconic Orient Express, to the very chic, yet authentic, Spicy Duck and the vibrant Capital Kitchen. Restaurants aside, we are also home to the country’s finest events and convention destination since 1983. Perfecting the art of ensuring quality and quantity and being consistent over the years has been our forte. And this I believe has helped us ensure our loyal customer base. Nuanced understanding of discerning tastes, an extremely enthusiastic, yet mature and experienced team and most importantly, sharp, well thought-through planning has been our winning formula. We also believe in extensive training on a continuous basis and work hard to source the finest produce, spend time doing research and have over the years, built some of the most iconic F&B brands in the country.
The legendary Orient Express celebrates 38 years, tell us a little about the special anniversary menu that you have curated.
Inspired by the legendary long-distance train which ran from Paris to Istanbul until 1977, the iconic Orient Express at Taj Palace, New Delhi has been capital’s most celebrated fine-dining restaurant since 1983. To commemorate its 38th anniversary, we have curated a limited edition menu featuring an exquisite selection of nostalgic favourites and timeless signatures that have been on the menu since 1983 along with a couple of contemporary renditions. The legendary train that was known for its gastronomic experiences, is the inspiration behind this award-winning restaurant which recreates a carriage of the train and the ambience of a historic era, focusing on the finest European gourmet fare. So our anniversary special menu features a selection of signatures such as the fabled Camembert cheese soufflé, paprika sauce; Duck Margaret, fig compote, crispy phyllo; Butterflied Champagne prawns, butter garlic sauce; Saffron-scented exotic vegetable risotto; Red wine poached Fuji apple, cinnamon ice cream; Warm chocolate pudding, liquid chocolate centre and more.
For all the dignitaries that you have cooked for, what was the most challenging part?
I have had the privilege of cooking for several Heads of States, royalty, celebrities and corporate chieftains over the years. Serving Presidents and Prime Ministers from all across the world particularly, is always an indescribable experience. Last year, I had the privilege of serving the former American President on his maiden visit to New Delhi at the Presidential Palace. The most challenging part when it comes to serving dignitaries is addressing their nuanced, discerning tastes. To address this, I have built upon a two-pronged strategy that is as simple, as it is complex! We begin with a comprehensive summary all that we wish to showcase and consider the most feasible practical applications. During this process, a lot of research, funnelling and fine-tuning is imperative. Then comes that part where we try and attempt to decode the customer’s palate. A fine balance of these two processes lies at the heart of our strategy. While curating the overall experience, our endeavour remains to ensure the highest levels of personalisation, astute attention to detail and the inimitable magic of Tajness.
Tell us about your idea about opening your creative cloud kitchen space for seasoned professional chefs to come together to innovate, experiment and go beyond daily routines?
My vision is to a build a space that enables creativity, research and development and innovation for seasoned professional chefs. I wish to develop an environment where ideas overflow, where chefs can experiment and where culinary research is a day-to-day affair.
The culinary genius that you are, how do you see the industry embracing age old recipes, old grains like amaranth, millet etc and sustainability as the way forward?
As a culinarian who has spent close to four decades in professional kitchens, it is quite interesting to see how the industry and food scene has evolved over the years. I have seen the industry progress, palates develop and flavour sensibilities evolve with time. Today there’s widespread interest and acceptance of both innovative and forgotten flavours. Heirloom recipes are being embraced, ancient grains are being incorporated in menus and sustainability has become the norm. While there always remains a keen interest in novel cuisines, the renewed interest in forgotten foods and traditional cuisines is what is encouraging.
At Taj Palace, New Delhi, our Innergise menu features fresh and home-grown ingredients packed with antioxidants, immunity-boosting superfoods. Hence instead of traditional starch, we have incorporated ancient grains such as amaranth, barnyard millet or Jhangora – one of the oldest superfoods known to mankind, and quite popularly used in Uttarakhand and finger millet or Ragi – a rich source of fibre, calcium and vitamin D, among many others. The Innergise menu is also available through our gourmet delivery service Qmin and can be ordered on a subscription basis as well. With the renewed and growing interest in nutrient-rich, wholesome, immunity-boosting foods, the response to this menu has been extremely encouraging.
The latest trend in sustainable culinary practices is “hyperlocal dining”. The concept involves engaging with local farmers who grow and deliver limited quantity produce that is truly artisanal in nature. The idea here is to leverage the expertise of farmers whose products are not mass produced, in limited quantity and are of truly exceptional quality. While for largescale hotel operations, completely turning towards a supply model of this nature may not be feasible, it can, however, be considered for select products. For instance, at Taj Palace, New Delhi we’re looking at artisanal cheesemakers and cultivators of select organic greens whose produce is of limited quantity, gets hand-delivered and is of extraordinary quality. Needless to say, such a model benefits farmers and small-time agrarian producers immensely and is a great step towards reducing carbon footprint.
What’s that one food memory that makes you go nostalgic?
We lived down South for several years so my mother’s cooking had some nuances of Southern Indian cuisines. She would prepare this delightfully flavoursome Drumstick Curry that was my absolute favourite. With minimal use of spices and a very simple cooking technique, this curry was my go-to dish with a bowl of steamed rice. Even today, I do prepare at home for my family every now and then!