Born in Ambala (Haryana), Chef Rahul Kaushik had to struggle a lot to make his space count in the City of Dreams, Mumbai. In approximately 42 years of his life, his career has spanned for more than 22 years in this field. Chef Rahul completed his education from Army Public school (Ambala) and then went to the Institute of Hotel Management in Panipat to pursue his career. He initially wanted to join the army, but being the only grandson to his grandparents, and also his father’s narrow escape from life who served the Indian Navy, he decided to pursue Hotel Management. In his 22 years Chef Kaushik has worked in St. Regis Mumbai, Radisson Sas Hotel – Sultanate of Oman, ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton Hotel- Mumbai, Intercontinental Hotel Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Hotel Mumbai, and Palladium Hotel, Mumbai before joining Westin Pune as the Executive chef.

Kaushik’s major achievements include part of the culinary team along with Australian Master Chef Adam in the Longest Lunch table in India and also booked in Limca Book of World Records with 530 Connoisseurs, at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Mumbai. He has also been selected for cross exposure from culinary in Dubai in Hyatt – Regency, Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt. According to him a chef should keep in mind costing, eye for details, presentation, taste, fresh and flavour and also the value of money.

To Do everything and achieve all of this the greatest inspiration to Chef Rahul came from his father who was an ex-navy officer, who not only taught him stability and discipline but also team spirit. Chef Kaushik who is himself a father of two daughters loves spending time with them. He also loves sketching, playing cricket, football and other outdoor sports. 

Chef Kaushik’s team is loved by some of the high profile people from the country. His team has been the preferred choice for celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Ambani family, Bachchan family, Shilpa Shetty etc. Also he was the head of the team that was responsible for the culinary department in the major celebrity weddings. Namely:

–Ranveer-DeepikaVirat-Anushka
-Isha Ambani-Anand Parimal
-The Wedding of Naivedya Agarwal, son of Vedanta Chairman, Navin Agarwal. 

According to Chef Rahul the Key Challenges while working for celebrities and high profile guests are 

• Timeframe is a critical challenge. Often the time frames between different functions are short or the entire event has to be executed at short notice. Everything has to be planned systematically to deliver flawless service. 
• Last minute menu finalisation. 
• Availability of foreign ingredients for special dishes. 
• Availability of speciality chefs for each cuisine 
• Procuring desired equipment.
  

According to chef Kaushik challenges are a part of life, and once you get your goals right ! No one can stop your from getting successful. Inspite of all the challenges that come while working, Chef Kaushik loves his job for it comes with new experiences and makes one learn new things everyday.

By: Muskaan Gulati