CHEF OF THE WEEK

Born and brought up in New Delhi, Chef Piyush Jain has honed his skills in U.K and Australia where he developed his own style of cooking. Since childhood, Jain knew he enjoyed preparing food to please his friends and family.

Taking advice from his father, Jain decided to join the Hotel Management course in Oxford Brookes University in United Kingdom and subsequently William Angliss Institute of TAFE in Australia.

Travelling across the globe at a very young age also helped his culinary senses develop to a great deal.

After seven years of working in London and Australia, Jain’s cooking evolved to the point that he became the Sous Chef in Olive Bar & Kitchen in 2011 then Executive Chef at The HIATUS in 2013. During his culinary journey, Jain has done many food centric events like Melbourne Cup, Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, and so on.

Besides creating culinary masterpieces in his restaurant, Jain enjoys hot footing across the destinations, exploring food ideas and creating new dishes. As the Master Chef and Owner at Decode, his hands are full at handling the entire operations and management of the restaurant.

In a candid interview, he talks about his work, food philosophy and more…

Your philosophy on food?

Food which is cooked with soul and for the soul is the best food — as it is flavorful with a distinct taste.

Your favorite cuisine?

Italian is my favourite cuisine, because that is the cuisine which is simple in flavours but has a lot of texture to it.

Your idol?

Chef Ferran Adria is my idol because he likes to play simple food in different textures but with right flavours.

Your favorite spice?

Black pepper is the spice which looks very simple but it can do wonders in food if used in right proportion.

Your hot selling dish?

Uthapam waffle with Jama Masjid Butter Chicken.

Lessons learnt in the kitchen?

Every day is a new learning in the kitchen, but the best lesson in kitchen what all chefs should watch out for is ‘time management’ which is very important because if your time is not managed properly then you can’t execute anything correctly.

How do you like to de-stress?

Black coffee is the best way to de-stress.

How do you define yourself?

A chef who is looking for perfection in flavour, texture, plating and time management.

What are you passionate about?

Cooking and creating new dishes for my diners.

Last meal on earth, what would you choose?

Food made by my mom, be it anything.

Recipe

Uttapam Waffle

Ingredients

Permal rice-                  60gm

Yellow Urad dal –          15gm

Salt –                            3gm

Onion chop-                 25gm

Tomato chop –              15gm

Green chilli chop-         3gm

Coriander chop-           5gm

Garnishing

Vinegar onion –             10gm

Vinegar –                      7ml

Beet root-                     5gm

Salt –                            4gm

Sugar-                           3gm

Garlic lavash

Garlic –                         3gm

Kalongi-                        1gm

Maida –                         15gm

Kachumber salad

Cucumber-                     15gm

Onion-                          25gm

Tomato –                       15gm

Chat masala-                 5gm

Degi mirch-                   3gm

Salt                              1gm

Coriander chop-           2gm

Lemon juice-                 2ml

Method

– Soak rice and dal  overnight.

Grind it and make a smooth paste next day.

– Mix salt and vegetable nicely.

Set waffle machine at 150°C

– Put some butter and pour paste; add chop coriander on top and cook it 4-5 min.

Method for garlic lavash

– Add maida and make a tight dough.

– Then make a thin sheet and add garlic and kalonji on top.

– Cut it in triangle shape and bake it at 180°c for six minutes.

Method for kachumber salad

– Mix all the ingredients well

– Now, serve the uttapam waffle with garlic lavash and kachumber salad.