Finding new joys in my life …
Beginning….
I never pictured myself as a baker, brewer or a chef. I have been practicing ophthalmology for last 15 years I have specialized in retinal diseases. I have been running a very hectic lifestyle work, social activities, academics etc., finding time for my passion or hobbies was a great challenge. Then I realized if you feel you are too busy to take time out for your passion then you are not living your life. My culinarily journey began in 2015 when I was attending a European retina society conference in Barcelona, I met a celebrity chef, Chef Alfredo Rodriguez, he is the one who inspired me to cook, he told me that cooking is not only a job, it a passion, an He said creating a dish is like love made visible.
Experiences…
I completely believe that people who love to eat are the best people in the world. Being a complete foodie and my love for food made me learn cooking and offsite brewing. The joy of creating a new dish or a drink with a difference and elegance is what will give a so called ‘KICK’.
I travel to different cities, countries to try and taste local food. Whenever I travel, I get in-touch with locals and try to get the authentic recipes, this inspires me to keep my passion alive.
I have been fortunate to work with legends like Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White, these experiences are very inspiring and humbling.
I have been cooking every day since last 4 years usually dinners. My daughter and my wife are my greatest critics, since they are subjected to my experiments in my Food Lab every single day. The process of cooking usually starts with selecting ingredients knowing the recipe and ends with plating garnishing, not to miss the most important part cleaning up the mess you created.
Baking takes more effort and time usually, you can’t go wrong with the proportions. There is no foolproof recipe in baking, you might fail may times but it’s worth it. Well, I had been to Paris in 2018 to learn Croissants and sourdough breads, I did a workshop in one of the patisseries of Paris for 3 days this was a life changing experience for me as for as baking is concerned.
So, to fuel your passion you must expose yourself to the best in the industry, let it not just be a time pass thing, but do it with great dedication
Lockdown and love for alcohol
When life gives you, grapes make some wine! Well during lockdown, we all had ample amount of free time, initially I wanted to learn bartending because I love hosting parties. I enrolled for an online course with European school of bartending I successfully finished it, but during my course i happened to learn a lot about liquor. I developed keen interest in Wine and Beer making because it can be created at home. So, I started gathering my resources to start wine making. Created my own fermentation chamber using my OT tubing and air lock chambers, o and all that worked. So, I levelled-up imported some wine making kit and recipes. it so happened that I was able to make around 200 lit of wine with different fruits grapes, cherry, Indian black berry, pineapple etc.
Brewing started off-late, did an online course, visited few breweries and got my own home brewing equipment. tried may recipes from wheat beer to pale-ales and stouts. I have been fortunate enough to brew my recipe in a microbrewery recently which was a fabulous experience to brew 300 lit of beer. It was appreciated quite well by beer enthusiasts.
Planning to take my brewing and wine making skills to different level soon.
For people who want to try it at home, a word of caution, making alcohol-based drinks for personal use is ok but its illegal to sell it in India .
So, friends, whatever passion you have do it with same dedication as your profession, the joy what you get is just amazing. Believe me the sense of achievement you get will help you stay calm and perform better in your profession as well.
IF YOU EVER FEEL THAT YOU DON’T FIND TIME FOR YOUR PASSION, THEN PROBABLY THATS NOT YOUR PASSION