Young chef Prashant Sharma is Currently collaborating with Chefs in Mexico and United States to get into the process of understanding sourcing and balancing ingredients which can be developed for his future projects and restaurants. He had an interesting experience while traveling with Superstar Hrithik Roshan along with his two sons on their trip to France in 2017. Speaking more about this, Prashant says,
“It all started when I was told that there is an Indian family who needs a private Chef and we have a week’s time to pack everything and fly to Courchevel, Alps of France before Christmas . There was a non disclosure agreement on any details about the family. Hospitality team reached the chalet( house where the stay of the family organized) the day before their arrival to organize everything. Next day, we were asked to meet and greet the family. I still remember when he walked inside the room he was like the Greek God. He was with Hridaan & Hrehaan ( his two kids) and family members. During the meet, I discussed their preference of food and dietary restrictions. The Roshan family travel to Courchevel during Christmas for Skiing and Hrithik specially participated with his kids during these sports activities. Cooking for the Roshan family with numerous and delightful ingredients available in France when I was at the age of 26 , was truly an honor for me. During this course, I also learnt about the ingredients from the French chefs who were working in the same kitchen and I would surprise the family with my progressive versions of it. Family would go skiing after breakfast and used to come in the evening for dinner. Chalet was equipped with Live piano, where Hrithik would play and sing for his kids and family enjoying the snow fall outside the chalet after dinner.”
Throwing more light on his role during Roshan’s holiday Prashant adds,”My role as a personal Chef or as an Executive Sous Chef, was to create hospitality and food memories for them during their visit to France. As I said, preference of the ingredients, allergies and choice of cuisine was the most important aspect for me during the trip and visit. Educating the French chefs about the same was my biggest challenge. They had a language barrier but anyone who is willing to perform can always create magic and this is what our team did. I introduced food and meals in a way to make the Roshan family comfortable in the form of visual appearance, body and taste which for most of the Chefs have in mind while presenting food.
Roshan’s preference was to start with breakfast as family loves egg preparations specially egg Benedict topped with hollandaise sauce or egg and cheese omelette and freshly baked french breads over freshly made fruit smoothies and decaf Indian breakfast was also in menu with alternate options of South and North Indian flavors like Medu Vada, poha and uttapams. It was a great experience for me to share one part of world cuisine into another place due to this beautiful exposure. During dinner, Roshan’s had a preference of trying different cuisines on table such as Asian stir fry noodles ,French preparations of fish, Italian pizza and pasta with Indian biryani and gravies.”
Speaking about the feedback which Prashant has got from them he says, “For any hospitality person and Chefs, the most important thing is to create memories for every individual who’s spending their leisure time with the family. For me also it was really important to take feedback from the family and from Hrithik Roshan. He and the family appreciated the meals made for them and the detailing that was kept in mind before serving. We all clicked pictures with him at the end of his family’s departure from the chalet. Hrithik team personally mailed me a letter of appreciation and hospitality served through this entire journey after I reached Mumbai. This journey In Alps has always been one of the special memories for me and I am still in connection with the team wherever I am. Special thanks to Abhishek Dadlani (his travel organiser and CEO of lushescapes Dubai), Shaival Chandra( CEO of hopping Chef,Mumbai) and Mayur Shettigar( his personal bodyguard).”
